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MAY 16, 2014
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Lacson, Guingona release ‘NapoList’ to public
Aquino: Gov’t will re-file graft case vs Arroyo
Pacquiao, Marquez may clash in Macau
Filipino-Canadians in Focus: The Tecsons
PCI finds Time for “Me” time
MILITARY EXERCISES
Diplomatic couple from the Philippines charged with exploiting nanny The Canadian Press OTTAWA—Ottawa police have levelled human trafficking charges against a diplomatic couple from the Philippines in connection with a woman they brought to Canada to work as a nanny.
THE VIEW FROM CHINA. US Marines storm a beach along the West Philippine Sea on Friday but only to simulate an amphibious landing during
joint US-Philippines military exercises dubbed Balikatan 2014 at San Antonio, Zambales. This year's war games focus on maritime security. The exercise came even as tensions simmer between the Philippines and China over rival claims to territory in the West Philippine Sea, part of the South China Sea within Manila's 370-km exclusive economic zone.
❱❱ PAGE 18 Diplomatic couple
PHOTO BY MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
Complete records of Benhur Luy bared
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Luy’s records at a glance BY NANCY C. CARVAJAL Philippine Daily Inquirer
MANILA, PHILIPPINES—When they came to the Inquirer on April 27, 2013, the parents of Benhur Luy—Gertrudes and Arturo—gave us a hard drive containing the complete files of their son
while in the employ of their cousin Janet Lim-Napoles as her finance officer. The Luys, together with Benhur’s siblings Arthur and Annabel, came to the Inquirer to ask for help for their son to expose the plunder of people’s money by Napoles and her highly placed clients in
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PH ranks among most gayfriendly in the world ❱❱ PAGE 11
❱❱ PAGE 13 Complete records
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Philippine News
3 FRIDAY MAY 16, 2014
Lacson, Guingona release ‘NapoList’ to public BY CHING DEE Philippine Canadian Inquirer MANILA—Senator Teofisto ‘TG’ Guingona III, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, released the controversial “Napolist” to the media on Tuesday. The list was prepared by alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles. Napoles gave the list to former PNP Chief and senator Panfilo ‘Ping’ Lacson, now the ‘Yolanda’ Rehabilitation Czar. The list included 11 former and current senators and 77 other government officials, such as congressmen and congresswomen, and their offices. Senators Jinggoy Estrada, Juan Ponce Enrile, and Ramon ‘Bong’ Revilla Jr. are included in the list. All three senators have vehemently denied such allegations long before the list was revealed. Among the currently seated senators included in the list are Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto III, Aquilino ‘Koko’ Pimentel III, Gregorio ‘Gringo’ Honasan II, Alan Peter Cayetano, Loren Legarda, and Francis ‘Chiz’ Escudero. Novice Senator JV Ejercito was listed as a congressman.
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Manuel Villar and even the late Senator Robert Barders were also in the list. Lacson also submitted a 30page affidavit to the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee as a narration of events on how Napoles approached him with the list. “I hope that these documents will assist the investigation being conducted by your Committee and address the clamor of our people for transparency in public service,” Lacson wrote. Budget Secretary Florencio
Abad was also included in the list as former Batanes representative, as well as current Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Chairman Joel Villanueva, Customs Chief Ruffy Biazon, and Agriculture Secretary Proceso ‘Procy’ Alcala. Relatives of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo—Mikey and Iggy Arroyo—were also in the list. Other officials included in the list: Allan Umali Ofelia Agawin
Teresita Panlilio Narciso Nieto Alexis Sevidal Antonio Ortiz Deniss Cunanan Rhodora Mendoza Jesus Judin Romualdo Banzai Nieva Isidro Ungab Reynaldo Umali Salacnib Baterina Conrado Estrella Raymond Estrella Victor Ortega Niel Benedict Montejo Arthur Pinggoy
Samuel Dangwa Florencio Flores Erwin Chiongbian Erico Fabian Florencio Miraflores Napoleon Beration Rickey Sandoval Max Rodriguez Rufus Rodriguez Rizalina Seachon Lanete Edgard Valdez Scott Davies Lanete Rafael Nantes Sunny Rose Madamba Gerald Gullas Carlos Padilla Rodolfo Plaza Arnulfo Fuentebella Raul del Mar Rommel Amatong Marc Douglas Cagas Digaden Dilangalen Rodolfo Valencia Eduardo Zialcita Nanette Castelo Daza Constantino Jaraula Clavel Martinez Manuel Ortega Peter Falcon Isidro Real Corazon Malanyaon Narciso Monfort Uliran Joaquin Joaquin Chipeco Abdullah Dimaporo Ernesto Pablo Marcelino Libanan Rolex Suplico Benasing Macambon Jr. Jesnar Falcon Nasser Pangandaman Hussein Pangandaman Boy Umali Bagatsing Malapitan Ecleo Olano Jesli Lapuz Oca Rodriguez Alvarado Tulagan Nograles According to the list, Napoles had agents to help her distribute the misallocated funds as kickback to the listed officials. These agents were Ruby Tuason, Bryan Yasmuan, Jen Corpuz, actor Mat Ranillo, Pauline Labayen, Catherine Mae ‘Maya’ Santos, Patricia ‘Gay’ Agana Tan, Alen Ruste, and Mon Arcenas. Atty. Gigi Reyes, Enrile’s former chief of staff, was not in the list of agents. Guingon said the Blue Ribbon Committee will investigate further to decide the Senate’s next move. ■
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Philippine News
MAY 16, 2014
FRIDAY 4
Aquino: Gov’t will re-file dismissed graft case vs Arroyo BY TJ A. BURGONIO Philippine Daily Inquirer NAYPYITAW, Burma—Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo can’t rest easy just yet even after the Ombudsman cleared her of a graft complaint over the P728-million fertilizer fund scam. President Benigno Aquino III said the government planned to re-file the case against the now Pampanga lawmaker this time with a local court once it has gathered evidence to build an air-tight case. Should the government file the case with a regional trial court, the principle of double jeopardy won’t apply because Arroyo has not been arraigned in the dismissed graft complaint, Mr. Aquino explained. The Ombudsman investigates graft complaints against government officials and then transmits the cases to the San-
diganbayan, where the respondents are arraigned for trial. “If we are able to get the necessary evidence, to make a stronger case then that can be re-filed,” the President told reporters here Sunday night before flying back to Manila. He made clear that his administration did not file the dismissed graft complaint. In clearing Arroyo of the complaint, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales ruled that there was no basis to show her participation in the scheme, or even a hand in the disbursement of the fund. Otherwise, the government was bent on pursuing cases against Arroyo in connection with the alleged misuse of P900-million Malampaya gas fund, alleged misuse of P366 million in Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office funds, and alleged conspiracy with elections officials to tamper with votes in the 2007 senatorial
elections, the President said. “There are certain quarters who were talking about vindictiveness,” he said. “My promise to the Filipino people has always been: We will go where the evidence points us to.” He said the government wasn’t in the habit of filing cases “just to harass anybody.” “If you file a frivolous case, knowing that it’s frivolous, you’re in effect guaranteeing that the person gets off, scotfree, because double jeopardy comes in,” he said. “So my instruction has always been: Do not file until you are sure that the evidence is strong.” Speaking of the administration’s campaign to root out corruption in the bureaucracy, Mr. Aquino said officials of an agency were also being investigated for their involvement in an anomaly. He declined to give details. “I’ve ordered an investigation of this agency that really thinks
President Benigno Aquino III said the government planned to re-file the case against the now Pampanga lawmaker this time with a local court once it has gathered evidence to build an air-tight case. PHOTO BY GIL NARTEA/ MALACAÑANG PHOTO BUREAU
they can pull a fast one on me,” he said. “Sorry ha, but I won’t alert them. Can I just say that this group is so bold… They feel that they will never get caught.”
“I will prove to them that is not the case. Secretary Leila [de Lima] is also involved with that, okay. I told her, ‘Go as high as you can’,” he added. ■
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Philippine News
5 FRIDAY MAY 16, 2014
Finally, Jinggoy gets copies of 'pork' affidavits BY TJ A. BURGONIO Philippine Daily Inquirer AMID SPECULATIONS that he and Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Ramon Revilla Jr. will soon be indicted over the pork barrel scam, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada yesterday saw his receipt of copies of witness affidavits from the Office of the Ombudsman as a sign that the antigraft body would not be filing any charges against them anytime soon. After all, he said he had been
given five days to respond to the affidavits after receiving them yesterday. “Tomorrow might be too soon,” he said yesterday of Revilla’s earlier claim that the Ombudsman would rule on their motions for reconsideration on the plunder complaint today. Estrada on Wednesday petitioned the Supreme Court to nullify the Ombudsman’s ruling finding probable cause to file plunder charges against him. He argued that the Ombuds-
man had rejected his request for copies of the affidavits of witnesses Ruby Tuason and Dennis Cunanan, who both testified on the scam in the Senate investigation. Warning to Leila
Revilla, meanwhile, warned Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales against abbreviating the process to indict them. Like Estrada, he claimed that his motion to be furnished cop-
ies of the sworn statements of Cunanan and witnesses Gondelina Amata and Alexis Sevidal was also denied by the Ombudsman. Revilla said he was worried about the reports that De Lima and Morales would skip certain legal proceedings and file charges against him. “If they do that, our legal system will now be open to more abuses by the ones who are supposed to be entrusted to uphold the law, like the Department of Justice and the Ombudsman.
Otherwise, there’s no law to follow,” he said in a statement. Estrada couldn’t say if his receipt of the affidavits yesterday would render his petition with the high tribunal moot. “Not exactly moot because we were asking for them to nullify the proceedings because we were not given the opportunity,” he said. Otherwise, Estrada said he was resigned to the prospect of the Ombudsman indicting them before the Sandiganbayan antigraft court. ■
‘Gapo welcomes US troops’ return BY ALLAN MACATUNO Philippine Daily Inquirer FROM HIS woodcraft store just outside the former US naval base in Olongapo City, Rodolfo Palo, 59, eagerly looks forward to arriving American soldiers who will join the annual military exercise “Balikatan” with their Filipino counterparts. His artworks are on display in his small and crammed shop in front of the Barangay Pagasa public market, waiting to be sold to soldiers who want a souvenir where their names are carved. “Just seeing their names on this wooden souvenir gives them that sense of pride when they go back to the US. It’s their proof that they have been to the Philippines,” Palo says of his American customers. His family relies entirely on his income from selling wooden nameplates and souvenirs to make ends meet, says Palo, a father of three. It was in 1984 when he began making souvenirs for a living, bringing some of his works inside the US naval base and selling them to American soldiers. At any given day, as long as there were Americans around, he would earn between P3,000 and P10,000, depending on the number of items he could sell. Back then, each wooden nameplate would cost P500, Palo says. He says 90 percent of his customers were US servicemen. So when he heard that US troops could possibly be back in Subic more frequently now, he welcomed what he described as
Locals benefited from the former US navy base because of the thousands of job opportunities it created—until the last of the American forces pulled out of their bases in the country in 1992, according to Rodolfo Palo, a woodcraft store owner. PHOTO FROM SPIRIT OF AMERICA / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
“good news.” For Palo, the return of American soldiers could mean more income. “When the [US Navy] base was still here, a navy officer once bought 20 pieces of wooden desk signs from me in just a day,” Palo says. “Just imagine how much I will earn if a US carrier with 6,000 soldiers on board arrives here.” Also a former US navy base worker, Palo says he would sometimes accept “domestic jobs” inside the base when there were no US warships docked in the port. He would clean toilets in the barracks of American soldiers even without being paid just to make sure he could easily be anywhere near his American customers to sell his products. Palo says locals benefited from the former US navy base
because of the thousands of job opportunities it created—until the last of the American forces pulled out of their bases in the country in 1992. ‘Special connection’
But more than the earnings, Palo says he has developed a “special connection” to American soldiers. His adopted son, Rogelio, was an Amerasian. The boy, at the age of 7, died of leukemia in 2000. The child, Palo says, was abandoned by his American father and was given away by his Filipino mother when he was a month old. He belonged to the last batch of children sired by American servicemen with Filipino mothers during the 90-year presence of US troops in the www.canadianinquirer.net
country. US forces left Subic Bay in 1992 after the Senate rejected the extension of the 1947 Philippines-US Military Bases Agreement. Cause-oriented groups, Palo says, linked the boy’s illness and death to exposure to toxic wastes left by the Americans in the naval base. Even so, Palo says he bears no grudge against the Americans. Nothing wrong
Palo is one of those people in Olongapo who see nothing wrong with the increased presence of American servicemen after the Philippines and the US recently signed the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca). Under the security pact, US forces are allowed to temporarily access selected Philippine
military camps and preposition their fighter jets and ships. Former Olongapo Mayor James Gordon Jr. says there is a “silent majority” in the city that favors US troops’ return to Subic, which used to host America’s largest military naval base in Asia. Gordon says he witnessed how the local economy of Olongapo got a boost with the help of American servicemen. “People in Olongapo were hired in the naval base and local businesses benefited directly and indirectly from the presence of Americans,” he says. As for issues concerning the expected rise in number of women in prostitution once US troops are back, Gordon says law enforcement must be intensified to prevent it. Incumbent Mayor Rolen Paulino has openly expressed support for the increased US military presence in the country. Before the American troops left Subic, he says, “more US ships meant more dollars being infused into the local economy.” Some former base employees and their families, through a group in the social networking site Facebook, have also expressed support for Edca and the presence of US troops in the country, particularly in Subic. Susan Eusantos, whose father worked as a foreman at the former US naval base’s public works center, says: “Welcoming the US military presence, particularly in Subic, helps boost the city’s economy. [The Americans provide] ready assistance [that] they will extend to our country’s security.” ■
Philippine News
MAY 16, 2014
FRIDAY 6
P-noy taps Pangilinan to clean up Alcala dep’t BY GIL C. CABACUNGAN Philippine Daily Inquirer PRESIDENT AQUINO has tapped former Sen. Francis Pangilinan to do some serious “house cleaning” in the Department of Agriculture (DA), which has been wracked by charges of corruption and cronyism under Secretary Proceso Alcala. “The President said I am here to help clean up these agencies. Part of this is addressing corruption and smuggling,” Pangilinan said in a Palace briefing after being sworn to office by the President as his assistant on food security and agricultural modernization. The agriculture secretary has been under heavy fire for allowing the pork barrel scam to flourish under the Aquino administration as alleged mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles continued to channel state funds to her fake foundations with the help of her contact, Assistant Agriculture Secretary Ophelia Agawin, from way back in the
family looks forward to discussing with him his specific assignments from the President himself.” “We hope to start working with him to fulfill these tasks at the soonest possible time,” Alcala said, adding: “I’ve worked with the senator since he was head of the agriculture committee. I think he needs a free hand to do his job and I am all for it, including taking in the people he wants to work with.” Quezon Mafia Former Sen. Francis Pangilinan. PHOTO FROM SENATE.GOV.PH
Arroyo administration. Alcala has likewise been blamed for the President’s failure to meet his campaign promise of reaching full rice sufficiency and improved food security under his term, the rise in rice smuggling, and the unabated corruption in irrigation projects. While describing his assignment as a “food security secretary,” Pangilinan said purging
corruption in the DA was part of his job description. “The funds are already there for our farmers, and these just go to waste,” he said. “The marching orders are clear: to clean it up. So we will do what we can, as best we can to help in that respect.” In a statement, Alcala expressed confidence that Pangilinan “will be effective” in his new post and that the “the DA
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Alcala has also been criticized for appointing his cronies from his home province of Quezon (the group is collectively known as the “Quezon Mafia”) to juicy posts in the DA, including agencies transferred to the Office of the President. They are PCA Administrator Euclides G. Forbes (Alcala’s legal consultant), NIA chief Claro Maranan (an assistant manager of the Philippine Ports Authority during the Arroyo administration), and NFA Administrator Roland Calayag (former congressional chief of staff ).
The Quezon Mafia is said to include Agriculture Undersecretary Antonio Fleta (finance and administration), Assistant Secretary Ed de Luna, head executive assistant and director of the department’s AgriPinoy trading center project management office Arnulfo Mañalac, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Director Asis Perez, Bureau of Plant Industry Director Lito Baron, Philippine Fishing Development Authority Director Rodrigo Jimenez (an engineering officer of Alcala’s construction firm), and AgriTechnical Institute Director Nicomedes Eleazar. When asked if Alcala himself would be the subject of his house cleaning, Pangilinan replied: “The President did not say who should be included, who should not be included, whoever they may be.” He noted that the President never mentioned Alcala as having been involved in any corruption scandal. “I wouldn’t say he (Alcala) ❱❱ PAGE 15 P-noy taps
Philippine News
7 FRIDAY MAY 16, 2014
Debate on political dynasties opens on House floor BY LEILA B. SALAVERRIA Philippine Daily Inquirer
civil degree of consanguinity or affinity hold or run for public office in successive, simultaneous or overlapping terms.
FOR THE FIRST time, the full House of Representatives has opened a debate on a bill that could very well decimate its ranks. The antipolitical dynasty bill faces an uphill battle in a Congress dominated by wellentrenched political families but its sponsor, suffrage committee chair Rep. Fredenil Castro, appealed to his colleagues to support the measure which is intended to “provide equal access to opportunities for public service to everybody regardless of station in life.” Castro formally introduced the measure on the House floor yesterday to allow colleagues to ask questions about or propose amendments to the bill. The measure seeks to give substance to the constitutional provision that says the state shall guarantee equal opportunities to public service and prohibit political dynasties, as may be defined by law. “This is an admission in clear terms by the framers of the Constitution of the menace dynasties may bring or may have brought and will continue to bring to the country if... unregulated by an im-
Regulation, not prohibition
plementing law,” Castro said. The bill states that a political dynasty refers to the concentration, consolidation or perpetuation in public office and
political power of persons related to one another. It exists when two or more individuals related to each other up to the second
DOJ wants theft case vs Luy dropped BY JEROME ANING AND NANCY C. CARVAJAL Philippine Daily Inquirer THE DEPARTMENT of Justice (DOJ) has asked the Pasig City Regional Trial Court (RTC) to drop the qualified theft case filed by suspected Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles against her former staff-turned-whistle-blower Benhur Luy. Prosecutor Mark Roland Estepa filed at RTC Branch 155 last Monday a threepage motion to withdraw information for the people’s case for qualified theft filed against Luy, saying the DOJ had already granted his motion for reconsideration. Napoles sued Luy, her nephew, claiming that he pocketed P300,000, which she asked him to deposit in her bank account in December 2012. Napoles said the money was never deposited to her account. The qualified theft case was one of the reasons why Napoles reportedly forced Luy to go on a retreat. This led to Luy’s parents filing a complaint of serious illegal detention against Napoles with the National Bureau of Investigation, which
launched a rescue operation. It was during the hearings at the DOJ for the serious illegal detention case that Luy reportedly exposed the PDAF scam. In June 2013, the Pasig City prosecutor found probable cause to charge Luy with qualified theft and lodged the criminal complaint before the RTC. Luy filed a motion for reconsideration but the city prosecutor later inhibited himself. The motion was forwarded to the DOJ. Estepa, who handled the motion, granted it. Prosecutor-General Claro Arellano approved the withdrawal of the case. In granting Luy’s motion, Estepa said the city prosecutor erred in finding probable cause against Luy. Napoles claimed Luy was not her employee and only had an “agency relationship” with him. Estepa said estafa, and not qualified theft, should have been the charge filed against Luy. Estepa, however, said he was not convinced that Luy actually received the amount from Napoles. The prosecutor noted that Napoles only filed the complaint against Luy for months after it allegedly happened and when Luy had already sued Napoles for serious illegal detention. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net
Castro sought to appease his colleagues by saying it was a bill for the regulation, not prohibition, of members of a political clan. In essence, he said, it would put members of a political clan in a holding room to prevent them from running for public office until after an incumbent relative has finished his or her term. “It's a temporary roadblock to what otherwise would be a perpetual monopoly of power,” he said. “In the interregnum, the best and the brightest from the less privileged who are no match against a member of a dynastic political clan can run and be elected and hold public office,” he added. The antipolitical dynasty bill prohibits incumbent officials' spouses or relatives up to the second degree of consanguinity or affinity from holding or running for any local or national elective office in the same election. In case no one would withdraw from the race, the Commission on Elections should hold a raffle to determine which of them could run. ■
Philippine News
MAY 16, 2014 FRIDAY 8
Soldier who provided leads on Ninoy slay dies in crash Publisher Alan Yong Editor Melissa Remulla-Briones editor@canadianinquirer.net Associate Editor Laarni de Paula laarni.liwanag@canadianinquirer.net Community News Editor Mary Ann Mandap maryann.mandap@canadianinquirer.net Correspondents Gigi Astudillo Angie Duarte Katherine Marfal Frances Grace Quiddaoen Ching Dee Socorro Newland Thessa Sandoval Bolet Arevalo Graphic Designer Victoria Yong Photographers Angelo Siglos Danvic Briones Solon Licas Operations and Marketing Head Laarni Liwanag (604) 551-3360 Advertising Sales Alice Yong (778) 889-3518 alice.yong@canadianinquirer.net Antonio Tampus (604) 460-9414 antonio.tampos@canadianinquirer.net PHILIPPINE PUBLISHING GROUP Editorial Assistant Phoebe Casin Graphic Designer Shanice Garcia Associate Publisher Lurisa Villanueva In cooperation with the Philippine Daily Inquirer digital edition Philippine Canadian Inquirer is located at 400-13955 Bridgeport Rd., Richmond, BC V6V 1J6 Canada Tel. No.: 1-888-668-6059 or 778-8893518 | Email: info@canadianinquirer. net, inquirerinc@gmail.com, sales@ canadianinquirer.net Philippine Canadian Inquirer is published weekly every Friday. Copies are distributed free throughout Metro Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg and Toronto. The views and opinions expressed in the articles are those of the authors named, and are not necessarily those of Philippine Canadian Inquirer Editorial Team. Member
BY MARLON RAMOS AND NINA P. CALLEJA Philippine Daily Inquirer M/SGT. PABLO Martinez once offered leads that could point to the brains behind the unsolved murders of opposition leader Benigno S. Aquino and his supposed assassin Rolando Galman. Track down Col. Romeo Ochoco and Capt. Felipe Valerio, Martinez suggested, and maybe the two could help unlock the mystery of Aquino’s murder on his return from three years of self-exile in the United States on Aug. 21, 1983, that sparked outrage against the regime of Ferdinand Marcos who was ousted three years later in the Edsa People Power Revolution. A single bullet fired to the back of the head killed Aquino at the Manila International Airport tarmac after the opposition leader stepped off a China Airlines plane that brought him home; Galman was gunned down moments later by Aquino’s military escorts. Martinez said Ochoco, deputy chief of the Aviation Security Command (Avsecom), had ordered him to bring Galman, a tricycle driver and a military asset, to the airport on the fateful day Aquino was killed. Valerio was the leader of the Avsecom team tasked to secure Aquino. Both Ochoco and Valerio disappeared three years later, after Marcos’ ouster, when a retrial of the double murder was ordered. Martinez was among 16 soldiers convicted in 1990 and sentenced to double life imprisonment in the killings of Aquino and Galman. “Valerio is among those who might be able to shed light, but to me, it’s Ochoco whom the government should ask because he was the one who ordered me to bring Galman to the airport,” Martinez said after he was granted parole because of old age and good conduct in 2007. He feared for his life
On Monday morning, Martinez, a born-again Christian and a pastor, was hit by a Mitsubishi Montero as he was cycling, a sport he had taken to after his release from 18 years at New Bilibid Prison (NBP), along Roxas Boulevard. He succumbed to fractures in his ribs at San Juan de Dios Hospital at dawn the following day, his son Diomedes reported. He was 77. Persida Acosta, chief of the Public Attorney’s Office, yesterday said Martinez had always feared for his life since his release from prison. She said he reiterated his apprehension when she last spoke to him in 2010. “He could have been hit by a car accidentally or intentionally. We don’t know
Pablo Martinez.
yet,” Acosta told the INQUIRER. “I think it’s important for us to wait for the result of the autopsy on him,” she said. The clock on the wrist watch of Martinez stopped at 8:10 a.m. That was how Diomedes, 46, knew the exact time of the road accident, when the black Mitsubishi Montero sideswiped Martinez on a mountain bike and then ran over him. In the police report, Senior Supt. Ariel Andrade, the Parañaque police chief, said Martinez was struck by the sport utility vehicle driven by Henry Roque, 29. Identified as an employee of Philippine Airlines, Roque surrendered to the Parañaque police immediately after the incident. Andrade said that while Martinez was at the hospital, Roque and the children of Diomedes settled the case amicably, with Roque shouldering all the hospital expenses. While the family of Martinez agreed not to file any case in court, Diomedes, the fourth of Martinez’s five children, suspected foul play. “Vendors in the area saw what happened. They saw my father thrown off his bike and roll onto the road (nagpagulong-gulong),” said Diomedes, a staff sergeant in the Armed Forces of the Philippines. No means to file a case
The eyewitnesses, he said, recounted that the vehicle did not stop and instead ran over him, causing the fatal injuries. “An innocent driver would stop at once as soon as he learned he hit someone. But clearly, he did not,” Diomedes said. Although he wanted an investigation of the incident, Diomedes said the family had chosen not to file a case against Roque. “If there will be an investigation, if it’s foul play or not, it will be welcome. But we have already settled this. We have no money and means to file a case in court,” he said.
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INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
Andrade, however, said police investigators handling the case believed the Monday incident was “purely an accident.” “The driver was willing to help them in the hospital expenses. But the family of the victim can still file a case directly in the court,” the officer said. According to Acosta, Martinez had often told her that he was anxious about his safety, noting that one of the senior officials implicated in the Aquino-Galman double murder was still at large. She said she had worked for the extradition of Valerio from the United States after the Sandiganbayan issued an order for his arrest, but then Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales did not act on her request. “He said he was afraid. But he was just fighting his fear,” Acosta said. “Actually, all the Aquino-Galman convicts were afraid for their lives. They have not contacted me since they were released from prison in 2010,” she said. “They went on their separate ways and sought refuge on their own.” Work his pastime
Even after he was released from NBP, Martinez maintained that he was part of the group that planned and carried out Aquino’s assassination, Acosta said. After he got out of prison, Martinez found work at Air Materiel Wing Savings and Loan Association Inc. where he was in charge of security management. Most of his mornings were spent biking along Roxas Boulevard. “He was athletic despite his age,” Diomedes said. He said his father had just done his bike routine and was heading home to Pasay City when he was struck down. Martinez left behind his children and second wife whom he married while serving his sentence. His first wife passed away in 1997. “He still wanted to work because he got bored whenever he had nothing to do. His work was his pastime,” Diomedes said. ■
Philippine News
9 FRIDAY MAY 16, 2014
Stop sex tourism, urges bishop BY TINA G. SANTOS Philippine Daily Inquirer A CATHOLIC bishop has called on the government to act on the rising “sex tourism” in Palawan, one of the country’s more popular destinations for both local and foreign tourists. P u e r t o Princesa Bishop Pedro Arigo, in an article posted on the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) website, said that Palawan faced an increasingly serious child exploitation and sex tourism problem despite the positive impact of the thriving tourism industry on the province and its people. The bishop urged the proper
authorities to show their determination in cracking down on sex tourism, which has emerged as an alarming trend in the province. “Let’s keep eco-tourism as it is and not add immoral and malice practices to it,” Arigo said. He called on the government agencies concerned to be more vigilant and address the growing problem. According to him, this was not a problem in Palawan only, but in the whole country. “As much as possible, especially here in Palawan where eco-tourism is very popular, let’s keep tourism wholesome, healthy and clean,” the bishop said. ■
Pacquiao, Marquez may clash in Macau BY ROY LUARCA Philippine Daily Inquirer MANILA, PHILIPPINES—If Juan Manuel Marquez gets past Mike Alvarado on May 17, it’s most likely he will be facing Manny Pacquiao again in November. And, chances are, PacquiaoMarquez 5 won’t be held in Las Vegas, Nevada, but in Macau. Promoter Bob Arum reiterated his desire to stage Pacquiao’s next fight at the world’s new gambling mecca in an interview with Thavoice.com. “Juan Manuel to Macau? I don’t see why not,” said Arum. “Because (trainer) Nacho Beristain is saying if Marquez fights Manny, he doesn’t want the fight to be in the United States because of the high income tax. What else could he be thinking of other than Macau?” Beristain, who had earlier expressed reservations about the worthiness of a PacquiaoMarquez 5, could be thinking
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The Pacquiao-Marquez 5 may not be held in Las Vegas, Nevada, but in Macau. PHOTO FROM SPORTS.INQUIRER.NET
of Mexico, where Marquez will have the hometown advantage. Marquez, who initially scoffed at another fight with Pacquiao after knocking out the Filipino ring icon in the sixth round of their fourth fight on Dec. 12, 2012, changed his mind after losing to American Tim Bradley on Oct. 12, 2013. Pacquiao, on the other hand, resurrected his career with a
dominant performance over Brandon Rios on Nov. 24, 2013 in Macau followed by a convincing unanimous decision over Bradley in their rematch last April 12. Arum announced his intention to bring the Pacquiao act back to Macau following the shabby treatment accorded him by MGM Grand in the promotion of Pacquiao-Bradley 2. ■
Philippine News
MAY 16, 2014 FRIDAY 10
BIR nails Zoren for tax evasion BY JEROME ANING AND PAOLO G. MONTECILLO Philippine Daily Inquirer ACTOR ZOREN Legaspi is the 240th taxpayer to fall in the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) drive to nail tax evaders. The BIR yesterday filed a criminal complaint in the Department of Justice against Legaspi for the years 2010 and 2012. The BIR said its investigation showed that Legaspi was short P1.92 million in 2010 and P2.54 million in 2012 on his income taxes. The amounts include surcharges and penalties. Documents provided by withholding agents and the BIR’s information service showed that Legaspi’s total income in 2010
was P9.64 million and in 2012, he earned P6.49 million. But the actor allegedly declared incomes of only P6.79 million in 2010 and P1.82 million in 2012.
ment industry. He is married to actress Carmina Villaroel. The case against Legaspi was the 240th filed under the Run After Tax Evaders program of the BIR.
Underdeclared
More charged
His tax declarations were underdeclared by 42 percent in 2010 and by 256 percent in 2012, the BIR said. Legaspi was accused of willfully attempting to evade or defeat income taxes, and deliberate failure to supply correct and accurate information on his 2010 and 2012 returns in violation of the National Internal Revenue Code. Legaspi, 42, a resident of Pasig City, is registered with the BIR as a professional in the entertain-
The agency on Thursday also announced the filing of tax evasion cases against four business people—Gigi Donaire Chua, Edgardo G. Vazquez, Benedicto Pasco Caguimbal and Constantino A. Llanes Jr. Chua was charged for having a tax deficiency of P329.79 million in 2007, consisting of P238.41 million in income taxes and P91.38 million in valueadded taxes (VAT). Chua is the sole proprietor of Wangler Commercial, a trading compa-
Actor Zoren Legaspi.
ny in Quezon City. Vazquez, who was charged along with his Quezon Citybased construction company, Vazquez Corp., allegedly had total tax liabilities in 2008 of P84.35 million, broken down as follows: P51.47 million in income taxes, P30.65 million in VAT, P1.54 million in withholding taxes and P690,000 in documentary stamp taxes.
PHOTO FROM PINOYSTOP.COM
Caguimbal owns Caguimbal Electrical Works in Manila. He reportedly owed total taxes of P6.45 million in 2010, consisting of P4.56 million in income taxes and P1.89 million in VAT. Llanes, sole proprietor of JME Builders in Laoag City, allegedly had an aggregate tax liability of P9.95 million, consisting of P7.21 million in income taxes and P2.74 million in VAT. ■
2 lawmakers gained from farm subsidies P410M channeled to their bailiwicks BY GIL C. CABACUNGAN Philippine Daily Inquirer THEY WERE the brains and gatekeepers of a multibillionpeso farm subsidy fund supposedly meant to prepare the agriculture sector for the country’s trade integration into the Southeast Asian market next year, but official documents showed their bailiwicks became the biggest beneficiaries of their pet legislation. Six years after extending in 2007 the Ramos-era Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (Acef ) and allocating P6 billion in fresh funds, former Sen. Edgardo Angara and former Palawan Rep. Abraham Mitra refuse to take responsibility not only for the reputed failure of the project but also for how it was allegedly pillaged by dummy companies fronting for lawmakers. Both lawmakers themselves channeled a combined P410.27 million in Acef money intended for grants and no-interest, no collateral loans to their respective provinces, the INQUIRER has learned. The documents showed Angara endorsed P100.07 million in funds for Aurora State University to build a “bangus” (milkfish) park and research center,
coconut processing plant and feed mill plant in 2008; and another P200 million for the improvement of the Baler-Casiguran Road in 2008; while Mitra pushed for the construction of a P10.2 million abaca farm for Palawan State University in 2008; and another P100 million for the Department of Agriculture (DA) to eradicate mango pests in his province in 2009. Angara and Mitra claimed that both of these projects were fully implemented. “It’s difficult to make sweeping allegations of a scam. I think each company that borrowed should be investigated before making any general conclusion,” Angara said in a phone interview. He said Acef was a well- intentioned program that the country needed at the time it was implemented. 20-35% kickbacks
Angara and Mitra said the projects should be classified as grants and not lumped together with the P4.388 billion in arrears that the Commission on Audit ( COA), in its 2012 annual financial report, claimed that the Department of Agriculture had yet to collect from more than 250 companies. This represents 80 percent nonpayment of the P5.38 billion released under Acef before it was
suspended by the Aquino administration in 2011. As early as 2011, then Sen. Francis Pangilinan, cochair of the congressional oversight Committee on Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization, said some of those who applied for the fund were personalities and politicians “favored” by the past administration. Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala also said legitimate farmers cooperatives balked at the 20- 35 percent in kickbacks allegedly demanded by fixers for access to the facility. The Acef scam resurfaced anew after one of its biggest recipients was embroiled in the pork barrel scandal. At least P775 million in Acef funds went for the food processing and cold chain project of National Agribusiness Corp. (Nabcor) in 2007 and 2008. Nabcor was then managed by Alan Javellana, who is facing plunder charges for allegedly conspiring with detained businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles to divert P1.25 billion in Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) allocations of 83 lawmakers to fake foundations. As chair of their respective agriculture committees in the 14th Congress (2007 to 2010), Angara and Mitra sat on the oversight congressional comwww.canadianinquirer.net
mittee that had the final say on the release of Acef funds worth more than P15 million. Ministerial role
Mitra said that while he and Angara authored the bill extending Acef, they were not responsible for its implementation. “Our roles were just ministerial,” Mitra said. He added that there were other members of Congress on the oversight committee. The paperwork was handled by the Department of Agriculture, under then Secretary Arthur Yap, now a Bohol representative, and Land Bank of the Philippines whose president then was Gilda Pico. Pico also had oversight of the National Livelihood Development Corp., which Napoles allegedly used in her PDAF scam. Mitra claimed that he was assured by former Agriculture Undersecretary Bernie Fondevilla, a protégé of Yap, during the 2007 deliberations that the DA would be more stricter and prudent in deploying the funds after a number of companies that had defaulted continued to have access to the facility. In a phone interview, Yap claimed that he made every effort to ensure that the Acef loans would be repaid. “This is why we insisted that
the companies apply with the Landbank, which we assumed did its work of assessing the borrower’s capacity to pay. We also insisted that the borrowers give postdated checks to the Landbank so that in case they do not pay, the bank would just encash these checks,” said Yap, who maintained that Acef was not a scam. Among those who obtained loans from Acef were Zamboanga del Sur Rep. Aurora Enerio Cerilles, P50.058 million for her family’s rubber project in 2009; Pagadian Mayor Samuel Co, P15 million for a cold storage project in 2007; Inaki Larrazabal Jr., a member of a political clan in Ormoc City, P14.682 million for a poultry project in 2009; former Leganes, Iloilo, Mayor Adolfo Jaen, P12 million for a hog project in 2000; Rizal, Occidental Mindoro, Mayor Sonia C. Pablo, P7.449 million for an ice plant in 2008; and Guiguinto, Bulacan, Mayor Isagani Pascual, P13.8 million for an abattoir in 2002. Former Maguindanao Rep. Didagen Dilangalen was also listed among those who availed themselves of the Acef. Dilangalen, as chair of Moro Development Co. Inc., borrowed P14 million in 2009 for his sugar farm in Shariff Kabunsuan, Cotabato City. ■
Philippine News
11 FRIDAY MAY 16, 2014
PH ranks among most gay-friendly in the world BY PHILIP C. TUBEZA Philippine Daily Inquirer THE PHILIPPINES has earned its ranking as one of few gay-friendly countries in the world. Of the 39 countries covered by a global survey, only 17 countries had majorities that accepted homosexuality, with the Philippines ranking at number 10 among the 17. Despite its religiosity, the Philippines is one of the countries in the world where the level of public “acceptance” of homosexuals is high, according to the results of the survey. The survey titled “The Global Divide on Homosexuality” conducted by the US-based Pew Research Center showed that 73 percent of adult Filipinos agreed with the statement that “homosexuality should be accepted by society,” up by nine percentage points from 2002. The percentage of Filipinos who said society should not accept gays fell from 33 percent in 2002 to 26 percent this year, it added. This high level of acceptance, which is comparable to that found in secular western Europe, is even higher than those found in Japan (54 percent), South Korea (39 percent) or the United States (60 percent), where some states allow gay marriage. “Brazilians and Filipinos are considerably more tolerant of homosexuality than their countries’ relatively high levels of religiosity would suggest,” the Pew survey report said. The Philippines bucked the trend found in the survey showing that gays are mostly accepted in rich and secularized countries. “The survey … finds that acceptance of homosexuality is particularly widespread in countries where religion is less central in people’s lives. These are also among the richest countries in the world,” the Pew report said. “In contrast, in poorer countries with high levels of religiosity, few believe homosexuality should be accepted by society,” it added. Religiosity scale
The Philippines is said to be one of the most religious countries in the world and almost a third of its population lives below the poverty line. In the survey’s “religiosity scale” where a score of “3” was the most religious, the Philippines almost got 2.5. “Age is also a factor in several countries, with younger respondents offering far more tolerant views than older ones,” the survey report said. And while gender differences are not prevalent, in those countries where they are, women are consistently more accepting of homosexuality than men,” it added.
In the Philippines, 78 percent of those aged 18-29 who were interviewed said gays should be accepted, 71 percent for those aged 30-49, and 68 percent for those 50 years old and above, according to the survey. The report also showed that of the eight countries surveyed in the AsiaPacific region, the Philippines had the second highest acceptance rate next to Australia’s 79 percent. “In the Asia-Pacific region, where views of homosexuality are mostly negative, more than seven in 10 in Australia and the Philippines say homosexuality should be accepted by society,” the report said. In contrast, only three percent of people in neighboring Indonesia, nine percent in Malaysia and 21 percent in China said homosexuality should be accepted, the report added. Not impressed
However, Filipino gay groups were not impressed by the survey results. When asked if the gay community in the Philippines felt accepted, Jonas Bagas, executive director of the TLF Share Collective, said: “Hardly.” “I think that the study only reflects the perceived acceptance of the LGBT community based on the high visibility of gay entertainers. It’s acceptance [that is] contingent on how you fit the acceptable stereotype—the gay entertainer, the creative, talented bakla, the lesbian security guard,” Bagas said. “Once you go outside these stereotypes, that’s when you encounter rejection,” he added. Bagas said a Filipino student in a lesbian relationship faces higher probability of getting kicked out of her school than a student in a heterosexual relationship. “We still have strong biases against gay sex, which for many is still deemed immoral and unnatural. This attitude fosters inequality in our laws, in education, healthcare and even within the family,” Bagas said. The Pew report said those who conducted the survey had face-to-face interviews with 804 Filipinos aged 18 and above from March 10 to April 3 this year. The interviews were conducted in Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilonggo, Ilocano and Bicolano. The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percent. ■
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special report called “Home Buyers: How to Save Thousands of Dollars When You Buy.” This free report outlines the psychology of how a seller sets their asking price, and gives you 3 simple steps to follow, before you even set foot in a seller’s home, which could help you to successfully slash thousands of dollars off the price of the home you want. To order a FREE Special Report, visit www. VancouverBuyersSaveThousands.com or to hear a brief recorded message about how to order your FREE copy of this report call toll-free 1-888-2565085 and enter 1014. You can call any time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Get your free special report NOW to find out how you can save thousands of dollars when you buy a home.
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Philippine police say about 100 more suspects linked to cybersex blackmail syndicates The Associated Press MANILA, PHILIPPINES—About 100 more Filipino suspects are linked to online blackmail syndicates that extorted money from victims worldwide after luring them into exposing themselves in front of webcams or engaging in lewd chats, a Philippine police official said Tuesday. Authorities arrested 58 suspects in Manila and three outlying regions two weeks ago in a crackdown backed by Interpol and police from four countries, including the United States. The suspects were traced through online chats from victims’ computers. Senior Superintendent Gilbert Sosa of the police’s Anti-Cybercrime Group said an investigation has linked 100 more suspects to the syndicates, including some who received a share of money extorted from victims. The additional suspects will be arrested and charged if evidence clearly shows their involvement, he said. “After the initial arrests, many other suspects have been lying low,” Sosa said. “But international collaboration and information-sharing have really helped us to identify and track them.” The syndicates prey on mostly male victims by employing women with fake Facebook accounts who strike up online chats. The vic-
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tims are duped into engaging in lewd talk, exposing themselves before a webcam or performing a sexual act, which are secretly recorded and used to blackmail them, Philippine police said. Wider Internet access, a relatively lower risk of arrest and big financial gains have caused such crimes to flourish in recent years in many countries. Interpol said it’s difficult to estimate numbers, but there could be “hundreds of thousands” of such victims. The online extortion groups usually ask for $500 from each victim but have demanded up to $15,000, according to Interpol. The crackdown in the Philippines was partly sparked by information that a 17-year-old mechanic in Scotland, Daniel Perry, took his own life in July last year after being victimized by a Filipino extortion group. The BBC has reported that he killed himself after being warned that his video conversations would be circulated to his friends and family if he didn’t pay. Three of the 58 arrested Filipino suspects were believed to have victimized Perry, who jumped off a bridge after being blackmailed by the syndicate, Sosa said. ■
Philippine News
MAY 16, 2014 FRIDAY 12
Paje: Time to stop relying on Angat Dam BY DJ YAP Philippine Daily Inquirer
Cops claim P100M bribe try for release of Amalilio wife Philippine Daily Inquirer MANILA, PHILIPPINES—Two hours after the arrest of Abigail Pendulas on Friday, a man offered police P100 million in exchange for the release of the wife of Manuel Amalilio, the alleged brains behind the P12billion pyramid scam that victimized 15,000 people in the Visayas and Mindanao two years ago. Chief Insp. Melvin Montante, head of the Central Luzon police intelligence division, said Thursday that the bribe was offered through SPO1 Jose Santos, one of the arresting officers. Police arrested Pendulas in a bar in the City of San Fernando in Pampanga province at around 11 p.m. on Friday on syndicated estafa charges filed in Iligan City, Misamis Oriental province, by five complainants seeking recovery of P29 million they had lost in the pyramid scam. ‘Name your price’
“My men said she was shaking when they were about to interview her. She passed her [cell] phone to [SPO1] Jose Santos. The caller, a man who did not identify himself and who spoke in Tagalog, first offered P100 million. Then he told Santos, ‘Name your price,’” Mon-
tante said. The call came between 1:30 a.m. and 2 a.m. on Saturday. The man did not call again.
Santos confirmed the bribe offer. Montante said he called Chief Supt. Raul Petrasanta, Central Luzon regional police director, to report the bribery attempt. “[Chief Supt.] Petrasanta told me, ‘Don’t entertain any offer,’” Montante said. Pendulas, 26, allegedly a coconspirator in the pyramid scam, is detained in the regional police headquarters at Camp Olivas in San Fernando. ‘Ridiculous’
Her lawyer, Rosabel Cui, called the bribery attempt “absolutely untrue” and “ridiculous.” “She is not the millionaire that they have been trying to portray her to be,” Cui said by telephone. Pendulas was arrested a year after information came that she had gone into hiding in Central Luzon. Police said they had difficulty tracking her down because she had a “nose lift” and assumed a different name. The scam supposedly led by Amalilio, president of Aman Futures Group Philippines Inc., was uncovered in 2012.
The victims include local politicians, policemen, soldiers, government employees, market vendors, farmers, drivers and overseas Filipino workers in the Visayas and Mindanao. Amalilio was arrested in Malaysia last year for passport fraud. He remains jailed there. Clamming up
Montante said Pendulas refused to speak to investigators about her role in the pyramid scam, in which investors were lured to invest money with the promise that they would get their investment back within eight days with up to 60-percent profit. As in the Ponzi scheme, the investors in the pyramid scam were paid from the investments of other, unsuspecting victims. When Amalilio ran out of new investors to pay off his old investors, the scam collapsed and he fled to the Malaysian state of Sabah in northern Borneo. He was arrested there in January last year and was about to be deported to the Philippines when a Malaysian court ordered that he stand trial in Malaysia. Amalilio was sentenced to two years in prison. As for Pendulas, Montante said she would be turned over to a Department of Justice detention center in Manila soon. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net
IT MAY BE high time to put a stop to Metro Manila’s reliance on Angat Dam and consider directly getting water from the 90,000-hectare Laguna Lake, Environment Secretary Ramon Paje said yesterday. The official broached the viability of Laguna Lake supplying the capital’s water needs, as the level of Angat Dam, the reservoir providing 97 percent of the capital’s water, fell to 181.31 meters, just over a meter short of the critical point yesterday. The water in the dam is expected to hit the critical level of 180 meters in “four to five” days, decreasing by about 30 centimeters every day, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa). But the water level will fall at a faster rate in the coming days. “Angat Dam is shaped like a cone, so as the days pass, the decreases will be more dramatic,” said Pagasa hydrologist Elmer Caringal. Paje said that once the water in Angat reached 180 meters, it would start falling “by the meter, as in one meter one day, two meters, the next day, and so on.” Priority domestic supply
But the official allayed fears of severe water disruption in Metro Manila, as the priority of the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) was for domestic consumption in the capital. The NWRB regularly monitors the water level in Angat Dam, which supplies 97 percent of Metro Manila’s water needs, mostly for domestic use, and irrigation of farmlands in
Angat Hydroelectric Dam.
the nearby provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga in Luzon. Once the water reaches the critical level, the protocol is to immediately cut the irrigation supply, and then, if the water continues to recede, the supply for electric power plants, Caringal said. But Metro Manila has auxiliary turbines providing power; thus a major disruption to power supply is not seen. Caringal said the lowest level Angat Dam ever reached was 157.56 meters in July 2010, during the 2009-2009 El Niño season, which led to water rationing in parts of the metropolis. To hit in June
Pagasa earlier said El Niño, a phenomenon marked by the abnormal warming of Pacific waters, would “almost certainly” hit the country in June. In the Philippines, El Niño manifests in below normal rainfall and stronger storms. Paje said it was too early to consider scenarios in which rationing of water would be considered necessary. “That will only come in when the water level is at the 150 meter level, which is still a long way to go. If that happens, in places where there’s high elevation, there may be a lowering of water pressure. There will still be supply, but weaker,” he said. Paje said farmers of Bulacan and Pampanga would bear the brunt of the water shortage. “This is unfortunate because not only would they have little water for their farmlands, they will also be affected by El Niño,” he said. As a long-term solution, Paje said it was time to seriously study the possibility of directly taking water from Laguna Lake on a larger scale. ■
PHOTO FROM BULACAN.GOV.PH
Philippine News
13 FRIDAY MAY 16, 2014
Complete records... the government. The Inquirer copied the contents of the hard drive that had 20,103 files held in 2,156 folders during the period 2002 to 2012. Napoles knew that Benhur kept complete records of her transactions upon her strict instructions. Surrendering the laptop containing the business transactions of JLN Corp., where Benhur was finance officer, was the condition set by Napoles and her brother Reynald Lim for his family to be allowed to see Benhur after they allegedly illegally detained him on Dec. 19, 2012. On March 22, agents of the National Bureau of Investigation’s Special Task Force rescued Benhur from the Napoles condominium unit in Pacific Plaza Towers in Taguig City. What Napoles did not know then was that Benhur had made a backup file on the hard drive where amounts of kickbacks given to lawmakers and other government officials were recorded in detail. Benhur’s parents were accompanied to the Inquirer by another JLN employee, Merlina Suñas, who also turned whistleblower, his longtime friend Flor Villanueva and Benhur’s former lawyer Levito Baligod. The Inquirer discovered that close to 200 people, including lawmakers, department heads, a former Supreme Court justice, popular media personalities, heads of government-owned and -controlled corporations, government employees of various agencies, local government officials, lawyers, military officials, show-biz personalities, employees of the Senate and the House of Representatives, and private individuals received money from Napoles based on the records of Benhur. Benhur’s records showed that transactions of lawmakers were of two categories. One, there were legislators who repeatedly funneled huge funds to Napoles organizations and personally received kickbacks from her. Two, there were legislators who allocated a minimal amount of their pork barrel funds through agents and representatives. ❰❰ 1
Kickback deliveries
Kickbacks were handed out using various methods— through bank fund transfers, checks, cash delivered to their
houses or picked up at the JLN office in Discovery Center in Ortigas, Pasig City, the Benhur records also showed. Other places indicated as venues for deliveries of kickbacks were hotels, restaurants and coffee shops. Some legislators received kickbacks in foreign currency, the files showed. The Inquirer found in the computer files records of financial transactions, bank documents, bank transfers, cash and check disbursements, letters of endorsements, memorandums of agreement, acceptance letters, list of properties, money transfers, auditor’s reports, private letters, insurance policies, prayers, photographs, project proposals, check disbursements, bank placements, bank deposits, drafts of various communications, special allocation release order numbers, guests lists and payrolls of JLN employees, including Benhur’s. The hard drive contained JLN Corp. bank account numbers and balances. The records also showed that Napoles controlled 21 foundations—not 20 as earlier reported—and a publishing company, Golden Publishing Corp. The records further showed that Napoles knew some of the personalities of other equally questionable organizations, which were also beneficiaries of hundreds of millions of pesos from some legislators. Benhur’s records were among the evidence submitted by the National Bureau of Investigation to the Office of the Ombudsman as part of the evidence in plunder cases filed against Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., Jinggoy Estrada and 74 others. Other sources of scams
Benhur’s records showed that apart from the estimated P10-billion Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) allocations and the Malampaya Fund, other public funds were also sources of kickbacks for the lawmakers through Napoles. The other sources were budget insertions, allocations for hard projects like farm-to-market roads, appropriation funds for calamity, nationwide equipment enhancement programs and department savings. Budget for members of the Commission on Appointments and media blitz of some government organizations were also
financed by Napoles. It also contained records of Napoles’ properties and houses, payments of club shares, bank accounts, security and treasury bonds, and the JLN Corp. minimal payments made to the Bureau of Internal Revenue. The records also have detailed information on how much and when and how Napoles sent millions of dollars to the United States to purchase properties and finance the lifestyle of her daughter abroad. The hard drive also contained names of guest lists for Napoles parties like the JLN office anniversary, wedding anniversary and other family celebrations. It also contained songs for Mass and photos of Benhur with friends. Apart from the hard drive, Benhur also provided additional documents to the Inquirer to support the information retrieved from the hard drive. Benhur, speaking through his lawyer Raji Mendoza, explained that those who transacted with Napoles involved “rebates or commission.” Benhur, through Mendoza, was informed of the Inquirer’s decision to release the content of the hard drive. “We hope that the release of the records of my client will be the catalyst that will challenge public officials to be more circumspect in the use of public funds,” Mendoza said. Part Two
By the time the pork barrel scam was exposed last year, the public funds described in the digital records of Benhur Luy as proceeds of “sales” far exceeded the estimated P10 billion that allegedly landed in the various bank accounts of Janet LimNapoles, her companies and their subsidiaries. The amount was culled by the Inquirer from more than 500 special allotment release orders (Saros) for more than 100 lawmakers, including former and current members of the Senate and the House of Representatives, on the hard disk drive (HDD) containing records of Napoles’ business transactions. The funds were from projects for the Department of Transportation and Communications, Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Agrarian Reform, fertilizer projects, GMA rice inputs, insertions, farm-towww.canadianinquirer.net
market road projects and the Malampaya gas fund intended for typhoon victims. The digital records of Benhur Luy, Napoles’ finance officer before he turned whistle-blower, were made available to the Inquirer when his family visited the Inquirer on April 27, 2013. The records showed Napoles had access to not less than P1 billion kept in placements, foreign currency and savings accounts. Napoles’ husband, Jaime, a former Marine major, contrary to reports that he was not a part of his wife’s activities, received a commission of P200,000 from a DA project in 2005. The records were so meticulous they covered anywhere from purchases of lanzones and McDonald burgers to a car for boxing icon Manny Pacquiao’s rumored girlfriend. The Benhur Luy files also showed: – Napoles purchased $4.1 million in one day in 2006 and sent it abroad to buy properties and finance activities of her daughter who was residing overseas. – The money used to purchase the foreign currency, including British pounds, was withdrawn from bank accounts of nongovernment organizations (NGOs) controlled by Napoles, which were depositories of projects funded by the congressional Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF). – JLN Corp. paid P11,852.50 in annual income tax for 2005; Jo-Chris Trading, P3,450; and JC World Travel, P5,345. – Napoles paid for the Mazda car of Krista Ranillo, rumored ex-girlfriend of Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao and daughter of former actor Mat Ranillo. – For every inspection of the Department of Transportation and Communications, which sometimes happened twice a month from 2004 to 2006, the inspector received P20,000 “SOP.” – Energy and Regulatory Commission Chair Zenaida Ducut, before and after she was appointed as ERC head by then President Gloria MacapagalArroyo, served as the top agent of Napoles both in the Senate and the House . – Ducut’s media blitz when she was appointed as ERC chief was paid for by Napoles. – Lawmakers asked Napoles for kickback advances charged to future projects. – Napoles gave a check for
P345,000 to Mario Lim as donation for a classroom in China. – Napoles’ transactions were a family affair for some lawmakers. Regular clients were father and son, mother and son, wife and husband, siblings, brothers, cousins and in-laws. – Pauline Labayen, a senior staff member of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, signed communications to regional directors of the Department of Public Works and Highways informing them of allocations for farm-tomarket roads funded by PDAF. – Local government units (LGUs) were regular conduits of PDAF projects chosen by lawmakers. – Favored heads of LGUs also repeatedly designated Napoles NGOs as beneficiaries. – A P3,000 purchase of lanzones by Catherine May Santos, a member of the staff of Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., was entered in the pork books. – Livelihood starter kits like beauty kits, soap and costume jewelry making modules, dressmaking, hairdressing, silk screen printing, security, technical, medical and farm kits were the favorite products of the Napoles NGOs for ghost deliveries. – P1 million birthday gift for “Sexy” on March 16, 2012. Napoles owns Gintong Aral Publishing House, also used as conduit for party list A Teacher Ikaw at Ako Foundation also owned by Napoles. – Napoles employees used code names for lawmakers according to their personality or advocacy: Kuryente, Gerera, Khulit, Bulaklak, Bonjing, Tuna, Inay, Tanda, Dahon, Sexy and Pogi, Jessica Daan, Olga Tossan. – Napoles allocated P275,000 SOP for the Commission on Audit and the Ombudsman given through her lawyer Freddie Villamor on Jan. 30, 2006. – Cash of P202,000 for Lucy Gomez for the purchase of lot. – P2 million worth of shares for 20 percent of Commander Shoppers Drug care of Alice Villanueva. – Napoles’ payment for the purchase of jewelry in hundreds of thousands of pesos also came from bank accounts of NGOs that were depositories of PDAF funds. – Napoles also owned NutriGrowth company as a supplier of fertilizer products. – P72,000 for the purchase of McDonald’s products on April 5, 2006. ■
Philippine News
MAY 16, 2014 FRIDAY 14
PH ignores China bid to free poachers BY TARRA QUISMUNDO AND MARLON RAMOS Philippine Daily Inquirer THE DEPARTMENT of Foreign Affairs (DFA) yesterday said it would let justice take its course in the arrest of 11 Chinese fishermen for poaching in Philippine waters on Tuesday, ignoring China’s demand that they be released immediately. The Philippine National Police also brushed aside China’s demand, saying maritime police were enforcing Philippine laws when they arrested the 11 Chinese fishermen at HasaHasa Shoal (Half Moon Shoal) in the West Philippine Sea. PNP Director General Alan Purisima maintained that HasaHasa Shoal, off Balabac town in Palawan province, where the Chinese fishing vessel was arrested, is well within Philippine territory. “Our assertion is that it’s ours. That is within Philippine territory that’s why we have a dispute [with China],” Purisima told a news conference. As to Beijing’s statement that the seizure of the boat and its crew was a provocative action, Purisima said: “That’s their statement. We are just doing our job.” “We should let the judicial process take its course in this case,” DFA spokesperson Charles Jose said in a statement sent to the INQUIRER. The line was a brief addendum to the DFA’s statement released on Wednesday night, asserting that the arrest of the Chinese fishermen by Philippine maritime police was an exercise of the country’s
sovereignty over its 370-kilometer exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the West Philippine Sea. The DFA also said the case would be dealt with “in a just, humane and expeditious manner.” The PNP Maritime Group’s Special Boat Unit seized a Chinese fishing boat and its 11-member crew near Hasa-Hasa Shoal in the Spratly archipelago off Palawan province after it found the vessel carrying around 400 protected sea turtles. Five Filipino fishermen were also arrested in the area around the same time for taking 70 sea turtles from the sea, which is prohibited by the Philippine Wildlife Act. PH sovereign rights
Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma said yesterday that the PNP Maritime Group’s action was “in accordance with its duty to enforce environmental protection and wildlife conservation laws.” And in seizing the Chinese boat and its crew, the police was “upholding Philippine sovereign rights over our exclusive economic zone,” Coloma said. The Philippines and China are locked in a territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea, part of the South China Sea within Manila’s EEZ. Manila has taken the dispute to the United Nations for arbitration, angering China and chilling relations between the two countries. Besides the Philippines and China, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan also claim parts of the South China Sea. After the seizure of the fishing boat on Tuesday, China, which claims nearly all of the 3.5-million-square-kilometer South China Sea, demande d
that the Philippines release the 11 fishermen immediately and urged Manila to “stop taking further provocative” actions. ‘Premeditated act’
Yesterday, the Chinese Embassy in Manila reiterated Beijing’s demand that the fishermen be released and accused Philippine authorities of taking a “premeditated” act meant to stir tensions in the disputed West Philippine Sea. In a statement, the embassy said it had “lodged solemn representations” with the Philippines and asserted China’s “indisputable sovereignty” over Nansha (the Chinese name for the Spratly islands) where Ban Yue Reef (Hasa-Hasa Shoal) is located. “This provocative action is premeditated in an attempt to create tensions, and severely violates China’s sovereignty and maritime rights,” the embassy said. “The Chinese side strongly urges the Philippine side to release the boat and its crew immediately, and guarantee the crew’s safety and their property,” it said. The embassy reiterated the Chinese foreign ministry’s warning on Wednesday for the Philippines “not to take provocative actions so as to avoid further damage to the bilateral relations” between the two countries. Not about dispute
Purisima said the PNP had referred the incident to the Committee on Illegal Entrants, composed of representatives from the DFA, Department of Justice (DOJ), Bureau of Immigration and other governmental agencies. “Let the investigation take its course,” Purisima said, adding that the PNP would leave the filing of charges against the Chinese fishermen to the committee. Justice Secretary Leila de Lima declined to comment on the incident, saying the DFA was the agency that should speak about the case to avoid further tensions with China. She indicated, however, that justice department prosecutors were awaiting recommendations from the DFA. Interior Secretary Mar Roxas said the arrest of the fishermen www.canadianinquirer.net
was not about the Philippines’ territorial dispute with China, but about the protection of Philippine wildlife. “The Philippines, through the agency of the PNP Maritime Group, is simply exercising its duty to protect our shoreline and our natural resource,” Roxas told reporters. “The PNP maritime patrol is just doing its job,” he said. Not sure they’re Chinese
Despite the PNP’s earlier statement that the fishermen were Chinese nationals, Chief Supt. Noel Lazarus Vargas, PNP Maritime Group director, clarified yesterday that the police had yet to determine their nationality. Vargas acknowledged that the vessel, identified by China as the 15-ton Qionggionghai 09063, flew a Chinese flag. “But we cannot assume that all its passengers were Chinese just because it had a Chinese flag,” Vargas said. He noted that maritime police recently seized a fishing boat in the West Philippine Sea that flew a Chinese flag, but its six crew members were from Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam. Vargas also denied Chinese media reports that the maritime police fired shots in the air before they boarded the fishing boat. “That is their statement. I do not know where they got their information. As far as the PNP is concerned, we did not fire shots,” Vargas said.
area when it had rudder trouble. He said the vessel was towed to Liminangkong Port in Balabac on Wednesday. “The vessel was actually close to sinking that’s why it had to be repaired in Liminangkong where its crew were off-loaded,” he said. “Fortunately, the foreign vessel had problems with its rudder. Otherwise, our boat cannot catch up with it because our boat is really slow compared to the foreign fishing vessel,” Purisima said. Charges being readied
The Chinese fishermen arrived in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, yesterday and were taken to PNP Maritime Group headquarters on Honda Bay where they were processed in preparation for the filing of charges against them in a local court. Local maritime officials declined to be interviewed about the fishermen’s arrest. Brig. Gen. Roy Deveraturda, chief of the military’s Western Command, said the Chinese fishermen’s arrest was “a case of a regular police operation.” Lawyer Adel Villena, head of the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development’s legal department, said charges would be filed against the Chinese fishermen after the police had submitted the legal information. “We are just awaiting the statements of the apprehending officers [and we will go] ahead with the filing of the case,” Villena said.
Five-day operation
Vargas said the arrest of the Chinese fishermen was the result of a five-day operation that maritime police carried out on a tip from local fishermen. He said local fishermen reported the departure of local boats for Hasa-Hasa Shoal, which lies 100 km from Rizal town in Palawan. The maritime police, he said, arrived at the site on Tuesday and saw small boats transferring turtles to a foreign vessel. Vargas said the small boats fled, but one was caught with its five Filipino crew members transferring turtles to the foreign vessel. The foreign vessel was the Qionggionghai 09063. Vargas said the 25- to 30-meter-long vessel anchored in the
Center of ‘bioadversity’
Meanwhile, the environmental organization Greenpeace urged the Philippine government and the international community to jointly undertake measures to protect marine biodiversity in the disputed waters despite unsettled political issues. “We are the center of global marine biodiversity but we are fast becoming the center of marine bioadversity,” said Vince Cinches, oceans campaigner for Greenpeace Southeast Asia. “It’s not just the Philippines that is responsible for protecting the oceans, but other countries as well. They should work together to protect the oceans instead of exploiting it,” he said. ■
Philippine News
15 FRIDAY MAY 16, 2014
House to grill Andaya on P10-B infra splurging Projects funded during the last six months of GMA tenure BY LEILA B. SALAVERRIA Philippine Daily Inquirer THE HOUSE committee on good government and public accountability plans to question former Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya about the release of P10.2 billion for public works projects during a spending binge in the last six months of the Arroyo administration. The committee is looking into whether the release of the funds from budget insertions was proper, noting a condition attached in the 2010 General Appropriations Act (GAA) specifying when the amounts could be disbursed. It is also awaiting a Commission on Audit (COA) report on whether the projects were properly implemented. Pampanga Rep. Oscar Rodriguez, the committee chair, said yesterday if necessary, the panel would inform Andaya, now a Camarines Sur representative, that he needed to clarify transactions when he was secretary of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) under former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from 2006 to 2010. Rodriguez said Andaya, being a House member, would be invited—not compelled—to attend the hearing. The panel will question incumbent DBM officials and those who served during the Arroyo administration in the planned inquiry prompted by a resolution seeking to determine how P30 billion in projects under the 2010 GAA for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) was spent. The P30 billion was part of a total of P69.7 billion in congressional insertions to the 2010 GAA. The insertions are normally made after the executive branch submits to Congress its proposed expenditure program for the year and during the period of amendments when lawmakers introduce changes, propose increases or realignments of funding. These insertions in the past constituted a part of the allocation of lawmakers under their Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), which the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional following allegations that the allotments went into ghost projects and kickbacks. Initiative
In the 2010 budget, Arroyo imposed a conditional veto on these insertions, saying the release of funds would be subject to Congress’ identifying new revenue sources. Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson has explained that the P69 billion was referred to as congressional initia-
tive because the amount was not included in the expenditure program submitted by line departments and it was only during the deliberations in Congress that the amount was added. There were apparently no new revenue measures to support the P10.2 billion worth of DPWH initiatives and yet the amount was disbursed to implement 1,074 projects, which included buildings, road works, dredging and the like. Nueva Vizcaya Rep. Carlos Padilla has noted that even if lawmakers would kneel before Malacañang to ask for funds, these would not be released unless the DBM would say so. He also said he had no problem if funds for projects were released to the congressional districts, but these would have to be properly implemented. “In the newspapers, it’s automatic that if there are releases to districts, it’s the fault of the congressmen. My point is, we’re happy there are releases, but we’d be unhappy if these releases are not properly implemented,” he said. Padilla said the DBM should explain the funding source for the P10 billion released in 2010. “We are at the mercy of DBM ... Let us ask DBM where these came from,” he said. During the committee hearing last March, Singson said that the way the P10 billion was disbursed indicated the projects did not go through the bidding process. “Most of the projects were farmed out at exactly their ABC (approved budget cost), which obviously means they were not bid out right. Most of the projects were cut into small parcels, like a P100million project into smaller projects of P500,000 each,” he said. He said that if the projects went through tenders the expenditures would have been lower. He explained during the hearing that he could not determine if there were “ghost projects” because he focused on the “big ticket” projects. He said the investigation was continuing. ■
P-noy taps... failed to clean up. He needs support and that’s why we are here,” Pangilinan said. He continued to defer to Alcala as “still the primary person” in the department. Pangilinan and Alcala have already exchanged notes, together with the President, on what should be the DA’s priorities in the next two years. A revamp of the agencies under him was not listed among the urgent goals, the former senator said. Pangilinan’s post carries a Cabinet rank of secretary and puts him in charge of the National Food Authority (NFA), National Irrigation Administration (NIA), Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), and the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA). Pangilinan was among the first members of the Liberal Party, the President’s political affiliation, to suggest in 2010 that then presidential candidate Mar Roxas give way to Mr. Aquino as the party’s standard-bearer. Pangilinan said the country’s preparation for the threat of El Niño, an abnormal weather phenomenon characterized by long dry spells, was among those on top of his to-do list, along with a review of the NFA’s rice import policy and assessment of its P170-billion debt, deployment of the coconut levy for the benefit of coconut farmers (PCA), and crop and pest infestation problems (FPA). ❰❰ 6
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He insisted that he just came on board to support an agency with a broad area coverage and faced with broad problems that must be resolved in the last two years of the Aquino administration. “I think the President felt the need to fast-track and to add support, so I don’t think there is anything wrong with that. There is no problem and that is what our secretary has said,” Pangilinan said. The DA has 60 attached agencies so Alcala “still has 50-plus more,” he said. “That is how expansive it is.” Pangilinan said he was not concerned that his appointment was being viewed as a political accommodation, having ended his second and final term as senator in 2013. “It’s not an issue to me. The issue here is agriculture has many problems, it only grew by 1 percent last year in a universe of 7 percent,” Pangilinan said. “The poorest of the poor are in the agriculture sector and if our focus is on inclusive growth, we have to address the problems of farmers and fisherfolk,” he added. He had initially declined invitations to join the Cabinet a year ago as he decided to get his hands dirty raising vegetables in his Sweet Spring Country Farms in Tagaytay City and spend more time with his wife, actress Sharon Cuneta, and their children. ■
Opinion
MAY 16, 2014 FRIDAY 16
PUBLIC LIVES
The normalization of corruption By Randy David Philippine Daily Inquirer EVEN without seeing the names in the so-called “Napoles list,” we may assume that the number of implicated lawmakers is so incredibly large as to support the conclusion that, in this country, corruption has become the normal behavior and honest public service the exception. But, if corruption is illegal, how can it become normal? There are two possible explanations. One, corruption has come to be treated as an unalterable given, and so, except in cases of glaring abuse, the law turns a blind eye and tends to be lenient about it. Two, the corrupt themselves do not see their acts as criminal or immoral. The milieu in which they operate supplies them with the rationalizations, attitudes, and beliefs that insulate them from guilt or remorse. In the sociological literature on deviance, these defensive maneuvers are called “techniques of neutralization.” Although the sociologists Gresham Sykes and David Matza developed this theory in relation to juvenile delinquency, I think it has great heuristic value for the analysis of pervasive corruption in transitional societies like the Philippines. According to Sykes and Matza,
there are five common techniques of neutralization (read: rationalization/ justification) for deviant acts. These are: (1) denial of responsibility, (2) denial of injury, (3) denial of victim, (4) condemnation of the condemners, and (5) appeal to higher loyalties. I would have added one more—the projection of the idea that no one has clean hands. But perhaps this is already treated under “condemnation of the condemners,” in which the corrupt try to regain the moral high ground by railing against the hypocrisy of those who condemn them. Note how these concepts are richly fleshed out by the accused in the pork barrel scam in the course of their discursive exchange with the Department of Justice and the media. Below are composite statements assembled from the rationalizations that have been offered by those who have been formally indicted. Though they may strike the reader as familiar, no single person actually uttered them. Denial of responsibility. “Why should I be blamed for this mess? My office only recommends the projects. I have no participation in their actual implementation. My signatures were forged! Why am I being held accountable for public funds that never passed my office? The implementing agencies and the Commission on Au-
dit should have been more vigilant.” Denial of injury. “All my PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) allotments went to the intended beneficiaries. The projects were requested by the communities themselves. Their needs would have gone unserved if I had not allotted my PDAF to these neglected constituencies. It is not my fault if some of these funds were misused or stolen down the line.” Denial of victim. “Who is the vic-
"[T]here are five common techniques of neutralization for deviant acts. These are: (1) denial of responsibility, (2) denial of injury, (3) denial of victim, (4) condemnation of the condemners, and (5) appeal to higher loyalties. I would have added one more—the projection of the idea that no one has clean hands. tim here? No one among the recipient communities of the PDAF is complaining. The blanket allegations of corruption are coming from the vociferous middle classes and the social media. No one can say I pocketed a single peso of these funds. The people themselves know how many times I have had to draw from my own pocket
to help them in times of emergency.” Condemnation of the condemners. “The government prosecutors are zeroing in on the administration’s political enemies and sparing its allies, who are themselves no strangers to corruption. These are politically motivated charges, and these investigations are nothing but a witch-hunt launched by hypocrites engaged in the same shady activities. Let the DOJ release the complete Napoles list, and let us see who among their allies have clean hands! Why are they not filing the next batch of cases?” Appeal to higher loyalties. This technique is used when the deviant tries to justify violation of community norms by appealing to higher norms, as when a lawmaker attempts to justify the improper use of public funds by invoking the needs of, say, a higher ideological cause. We have not seen examples of this in the current debate, as there has been absolutely no admission of wrongdoing. We have seen it, however, in the early attempts to rationalize the pork barrel system itself. What emerges from all these is a pattern where a criminal not only denies culpability but also attempts to neutralize the crime by offering a glimpse of the moral universe he or she is coming from. Their significance for the study of corruption lies, I think,
in the way they provide clues on how ordinary individuals who may think of themselves as deeply moral gradually silence their moral doubts and appease their conscience as they begin to participate in the culture of corruption. There are at least three factors to consider in understanding corruption. The first and the most difficult to analyze is motive. I have argued, in this regard, that the astonishing amount of money needed to win in our elections constitutes the single most compelling motive for corruption. It also explains the bloated sense of entitlement politicians feel once they take office. The second is opportunity. A weak control system and a highly politicized bureaucracy together create a fertile ground for the flourishing of corruption. This is the soil that has nurtured the likes of Janet Lim Napoles, a resourceful fixer who masterfully handled the dirty and dangerous side of corrupt operations. And the third is the deviant subculture that teaches the methods of corruption, provides the contacts, and offers the rationalizations by which the negative character of the corrupt act is diminished, if not entirely extinguished, in the minds of the perpetrators. It is out of this subculture that techniques of neutralization grow. ■
2-hectare slivers. They’ve shrank further over the past three decades as more farmers scram into ill-prepared cities. In contrast, technological change has enlarged farms in America and Europe. The “proliferation of efficient rental markets” that victimize small cultivators. Importers in Indonesia and exporters like those in Thailand pay farmers above the world rice prices. Thailand’s scheme was so excessive it ran out of bahts this year. That stoked the continuing Bangkok street riots that led to the ouster of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s government. Aside from new seeds tailored to dry, flooded or salty environments, scientists seek to boost the nutritional content of rice, not merely calories. Can these innovations be melded into earlier efforts? The “golden rice” project tries to genetically lace additional vitamin A into the grains. Five trial plots of golden rice in Bicol, developed by scientists to help those afflicted with vitamin A deficiency, were vandalized by 400 protestors in 2013, reports BBC environment correspondent Matt McGrath. The crop was then “weeks away from being submitted for a safety evaluation.” The golden rice project started
in 1993 by researchers with funding from the Rockefeller Foundation. A cup of golden rice could provide half an adult’s recommended vitamin A daily intake, the researchers estimate. Field trials are carried out in the Philippines under the auspices of IRRI and the Philippine Rice Research Institute, the local research body. The attackers were members of a group called Sikwal-GMO. They claimed the rice trial was both a danger to human health and biodiversity. The scientists disagree, saying: Development of the modified rice remains critical as 1.7 million Filipino children, under age five, are hobbled by vitamin A deficiency. “Filipinos share one common item in our everyday existence: rice,” National Scientist Gelia Castillo wrote in her book on a cereal that makes or breaks presidents. “Rice In Our Life” reviewed three decades of studies into rice that was sown, between 6,000 BC and 400 AD, in different places—from Ifugao to Lucena. “Seared deep in the psyche of Filipino politicians are crises when we could not find rice, even if we had the money to buy it.” Ayaw magsaligan ring tiyan, sa ana’t ibang taegsan, an Aklan proverb says. “Don’t count on someone else’s rice bin for what you eat.” ■
VIEWPOINT
Overlooked By Juan L. Mercado Philippine Daily Inquirer WHERE should pork barrel scam thieves be jailed? In the bickering, did we overlook “another green revolution that is stirring the world’s paddy fields again”—a revolution prompted by new seeds crafted in Los Baños, Laguna? The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) developed a seed that had a genetic sequence bred into it, The Economist reports. Five million farmers worldwide now plant the flood-tolerant “Sub 1.” Rice is the first cereal crop ever to be sequenced. Breeders found the genes for flood resistance in a variety from eastern India and transferred them worldwide. It’s now proliferating faster than new rice varieties released during the heady early days of the first green revolution in the 1960s. That transformed Asia from a hungry continent into one that could think beyond the next harvest, The Economist notes, and even projecting that a “second green revolution… should complete the first one, mainly by bringing benefits to the poorest, who missed out the first time round.” The next seeds to be crafted are to tolerate drought, salinity and extreme heat, says IRRI director Bob
Zeigler. If successful, they could “revolutionize cultivation of mankind’s most important source of calories.” But breakthroughs not guaranteed. Rice is pivotal in Asia. More than half a billion indigents depend on rice. The Economist puts it this way: “It is rice or nothing. And if there are problems with rice, there are problems with everything”—including riots. Thus, the Philippines racked up a 71-percent jump in rice imports. This will spur a new high for global rice trade, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization’s “Rice Market Monitor Report.” The National Food Authority called for tenders for a total of 800,000 metric tons of rice to be imported, the biggest volume in a year during the Aquino administration. Over 400,000 metric tons were unloaded as part of a December tender. The Philippines accounts for the eighth largest importvolume worldwide in 2014. The dwarf IR8 came on stream early 1960s. China then was reeling from the “Great Leap Forward’s” famine. India teetered on starvation’s edge. Famines are now nightmares of the past. In affluent Asian countries, like Japan and South Korea, rice consumption per person plateaued. The world’s rice bowls are the del-
tas of Asia’s great rivers. These are subject to changing floods, rising salinity and growing heat stress. Climate change is sometimes scoffed at as just the new problem kid on the block. Despite slumping fertility rates here, overall head counts are still rising. So is demand for rice. Africans tuck away 20 percent more rice yearly. Given current world population forecasts, total rice consumption— now under 450 million tons—will surge to 555 million tons by 2035. Rice yields are rising too—but at barely half that pace.
Ayaw magsaligan ring tiyan, sa ana’t ibang taegsan, an Aklan proverb says. “Don’t count on someone else’s rice bin for what you eat.” Output per hectare is stalling and, in some places, falling as pests and diseases take their toll. Yields in experimental IRRI plots slumped by 0.8 percent a year. Global warming shrivels harvests. Rising sea levels are seeping into Asian deltas. And water is scarce everywhere. Urban sprawl paves over farm lands as Metro Manila environmental experience underscores. In Asia, farms are often less than
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Opinion
17 FRIDAY MAY 16, 2014
ANALYSIS
China-Vietnam standoff at Paracels hardens By Amando Doronila Philippine Daily Inquirer TENSIONS over territorial disputes in the South China Sea flared up on Wednesday as a Chinese flotilla of up to 80 boats and 30 Vietnamese Coast Guard vessels clashed after the Vietnamese tried to stop China from installing a deepwater drilling rig near the Paracel islands, which are controlled by Beijing but claimed by Vietnam. The collisions were sparked by Beijing’s announcement that it was moving the rig into the area. The confrontations are considered the most dangerous between the two countries, with dozens of boats facing off in the area. The US Department of State called the Chinese decision to park the drilling rig in the area “provocative.” “This unilateral action appears to be part of a broader pattern of Chinese behavior to advance its claims over disputed territory in a manner that undermines peace and stability in the region,” state department spokesperson Jen Psaki said on BBC. “We are also very concerned about the dangerous conduct and intimidation by vessels operation in this area,” Psaki said, calling on all parties to operate in a “safe and professional manner.” Clarify claims The events, she added, highlighted
the need for claimants to disputed areas to clarify their claims in accordance with international law. According to BBC, Vietnam claimed it had sent maritime police and fisheries vessels, and shown footage (shown by BBC) of Chinese ships ramming its vessels. Vietnam said six of its maritime officials were injured. China, on the other hand, said “disruptive activities by the Vietnamese side are in violation of China’s sovereign rights.” The foreign ministry in Hanoi said the collisions took place on Sunday and caused considerable damage to the Vietnamese ships. Intimidation “On May 4, Chinese ships intentionally rammed two Vietnamese Sea Guard vessels,” said Tran Duy Hau, a foreign ministry official. “Chinese ships, with air support, sought to intimidate Vietnamese vessels. Water cannon was used. Six other ships were also hit.” The Chinese foreign ministry claimed that Vietnamese ships rammed Chinese vessels as many as 171 times over days. The claim followed accusations by Vietnam that Chinese ships rammed its vessels. Dozens of Navy and Coast Guard vessels from both countries were in the area where the rig was deployed. “No shots have been fired yet,” a Vietnamese Navy official told reporters. “Viet-
nam won’t fire unless China fires first.” The confrontations came days after US President Barack Obama visited Asia to underline Washington’s commitment to defend its allies in the region, including the Philippines and Japan, should the territorial disputes in the South China erupt into conflict. ‘Significant’ In a commentary for Reuters, Ernest Bower and Gregory Poling of Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank called the implications of the rig row “significant.” The fact that the Chinese moved ahead in placing the rig immediately after Obama’s visit to four Asian countries in late April underlines Beijing’s (intentions) to test the resolve of Vietnam, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, its neighbors and Washington, they said. Bejing may be attempting “to substantially change the status quo” while perceiving Washington to be distracted by developments in Ukraine, Nigeria and Syria, they said. “If China believes Washington is distracted, in an increasingly insular mood, and unwilling to back up relatively strong security assertions made to Japan and the Philippines and repeated during Obama’s trip, then developments south of the Paracel Islands could have long-term regional
and global consequences,” they said. Tensions spike The tensions between China and Vietnam spiked on May 2 when stateowned China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) moved its deepwater drilling rig in the South China Sea to a site about 30 kilometers from disputed islands known as the Paracels, in waters claimed by both Vietnam and China. China said Vietnam dispatched 35 ships to the area in an effort to stop it from installing the rig, while Vietnam said China deployed about 80 vessels. According to The Associated Press (AP), the drilling rig was escorted by a “large flotilla of naval vessels,” in the face of Beijing’s announcement that “no foreign ships would be allowed within a 5-km radius of the rig.” AP added that Vietnam sent up to 29 armed naval and coast guard vessels to the area as a “show of force” to urge Beijing to withdraw the rig. The rig’s location is 216 km off Vietnam’s coast and within the 370-km exclusive economic zone that Vietnam claims under the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea (Unclos). China has demanded the withdrawal of Vietnamese flotilla flanking the rig and Vietnam has demanded the removal the rig from the disputed area. Both have hardened their positions, and there are no signs either side will back off.
Assertive steps The New York Times reported that the movement of the drilling rig to the area “was among the most assertive steps China has taken to solidify claims over both the South China Sea, one of the world’s major trading routes, and the East China Sea.” China also appears to have tightened its hold over a reef called Scarborough Shoal (Panatag Shoal) in the West Philippine Sea, part of the China Sea within the Philippines 370km exclusive economic zone. China claims that its oil drilling operations are legal because they are in its “inherent territory.” Reuters quoted Ian Storey, a Singapore-based regional security analyst, as saying that he did not believe Vietnam was not in any mood to back down, despite the pressures of facing its historic foe. “We can anticipate several months of high tensions, which I believe could be the most serious crisis in Sino-Vietnamese relations since the 1979 border war,” Storey, of Singapore’s Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, said. He said there was no easy path for negotiations to sort out overlapping exclusive economic zones, as China and Vietnam have done in the Gulf of Tonkin—one theoretical way out of the crisis. “It is quite a legal knot,” he said. ■
AT LARGE
#BBOG—anywhere, anytime By Rina Jimenez-David Philippine Daily Inquirer SURE, the rich are surviving someFrom Michelle Obama to Malala Yousafzai, from Angelina Jolie to British Prime Minister David Cameron, from Amy Poehler, Alicia Keys and Leona Lewis to Steven Tyler—all of them, along with thousands of other people, mostly anonymous but concerned, incensed and angry, are demanding that a group of kidnappers “Bring Back our Girls.” The girls referred to are the 276 Nigerian schoolgirls taken at gunpoint from their boarding school in a remote province last April 15. The group claiming responsibility for the abduction is known as “Boko Haram,” which translates to “Western education is sinful.” The group’s leaders said the girls were breaking Islamic dictates by getting an education. Abubakar Shekau, leader of Boko Haram, said the girls were “slaves” and threatened to sell them in the marketplace. There have been reports that some girls have already been transported to neighboring countries while others have been married off to Boko Haram members who paid the traditional bride price of $12.
In a video sent to news organizations, the girls are shown squatting on the ground while surrounded by men toting powerful firearms. “They are slaves and I will sell them because I have the market to sell them,” Shekau said. (A news agency reviewed the video and authenticated the face and voice of the Boko Haram leader.) When confronted by questions that he and his group committed an international crime, Shekau replied in English: “What do you know about human rights? You’re just claiming human rights (abuses), but you don’t know what it is.” An intermediary was quoted as saying that Boko Haram is ready to negotiate ransom for the girls, adding that two of the girls have died of snakebite and about 20 are ill. Christians among the girls have also been forced to convert to Islam, he added. *** The taking of the girls has triggered an international campaign on their behalf, triggering 159,000 “likes” on Facebook alone, while spurring a photo campaign with thousands—from government leaders to celebrities, to ordinary concerned folk—holding up posters on which are written “#bringbackour girls.” Much of the ire has also been trig-
gered by the seeming inaction of the Nigerian government, with President Goodluck Jonathan initially denying the kidnapping, then downplaying its gravity or importance. Michelle Obama, who posted her photo on Mother’s Day, said in a radio address that she sees “in these girls… our own daughters. We see their hopes, their dreams—and we can only imagine the anguish their parents are feeling right now.” Michelle’s husband, US President Barack Obama, has also gotten involved, saying he had ordered a team of military intelligence specialists and hostage negotiators to Nigeria to help in the search. But complicating matters is the attitude that has been displayed by Jonathan and his wife Patience in the wake of the girls’ kidnapping and the outrage this has sparked. After one demonstration in behalf of the girls in the Nigerian capital, an organizer said Ms Jonathan had ordered the arrest of two protest leaders, “accused them of belonging to Boko Haram and expressed doubts there was any kidnapping.” *** One of the arrested leaders said Ms Jonathan accused them of “fabricating”
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the abductions. “She told so many lies— that we just wanted the government of Nigeria to have a bad name, that we did not want to support her husband’s rule.” A Nigerian newspaper also reported that Ms Jonathan ordered all Nigerian women to stop protesting, warning that “should anything happen to them during protests, they should blame themselves.” The latest news is that President Jonathan has created a committee to go to Borno, the state where the girls were taken, to “work with the community on a strategy to free the girls.” What many forget or ignore, says blogger Margaret Kimberley (in her “Freedom Rider” column), is that the taking of the girls is merely in retaliation for the killings and harassment of relatives of suspected Boko Haram members in 2011 and 2012. Indeed, little did the world know about the group before the girls were taken. “There was not a single television news story about Boko Haram in 2013,” notes Kimberley. This, despite the fact that “the group claimed responsibility for the deaths of more than 1,500 people in the past year.” Neither is this the first time that schoolboys and girls have been taken en masse, with boys faring even worse, with 29 male students in a
boarding school killed by Boko Haram last February. “The anger and sadness exist in a vacuum and are therefore useless in bringing about a resolution,” commented Kimberley. *** Forgotten in the lead-up to the kidnapping of the girls, adds Kimberley, is that in 2011 and 2012, relatives of suspected Boko Haram members were detained by police. The group swore revenge, with Shekau threatening retaliation against other women and girls. For sure, all the indignation and concern in behalf of the girls of Nigeria are justified. Kidnapping hundreds of helpless girls and treating them as little more than chattels to be traded for sexual favors and political accommodation is a crime and a serious violation of human rights. The insurgency that Boko Haram is waging is ugly and inhuman. (In fact, Islamic religious leaders have condemned their actions.) But we need to go beyond posting photos and hashtags and tweeting. We need to understand the depths and range of inhumanity and violations of the rights of girls and women everywhere, in all contexts and forms, and continue speaking out in their behalf, anywhere, anytime. ■
FRIDAY MAY 16, 2014
18
Canada News
Kenney defends job bank despite litany of outdated postings on site BY LEE-ANNE GOODMAN The Canadian Press OTTAWA—The federal government will soon make enhancements to its online job bank amid revelations that hundreds of positions posted on the site have long since been filled, Employment Minister Jason Kenney said Monday. “We are making improvements to the Canada Job Bank ... we will be using new technological developments
in the near future to ensure an even better matching of unemployed Canadians with available jobs,” Kenney said in the House of Commons. The government will work with “private-sector web platforms” when provinces fail to send their own postings to the job bank, he added. Currently, most provinces and territories do so automatically. The job bank is a critical component of Ottawa’s controversial temporary foreign worker program. Employers are required to post ads on
the site seeking Canadian workers for four weeks before they’re able to apply to hire temporary foreign workers. The government also relies in part on job bank data to determine what regions of the country are clamouring for labour. But from customer service representatives in New Brunswick to food service supervisors in B.C. and RCMP clerks in Saskatchewan, many of the ❱❱ PAGE 39 Kenney defends
Diplomatic couple from the Philippines charged with exploiting nanny Police asked the Department of Foreign Affairs to issue a waiver of diplomatic immunity last month, only to be told on May 5 the two had surrendered their identity cards and returned to the Philippines. The case involves a 26-year-old woman who was brought into Canada legally as a domestic worker. Police allege the couple exploited the woman for financial and material benefits and held her by withholding or destroying her documents. Bueneflor Cruz, 44, and Robert Cruz, 45, are both charged with trafficking, obtaining a benefit by trafficking and withholding or destroying documents. Robert Cruz is also charged with threatening bodily harm and mischief. Consistent with a rotation process, Bueneflor Cruz, cultural officer at the country’s embassy in Ottawa, had already been reassigned back to the Philippines, the embassy said Friday in a statement. The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs “takes the allegations seriously and is conducting an inquiry into the matter,” the statement said. Police say the victim remains in
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FROM THE CANADIAN PRESS
EVACUEES HOTEL FOR SALE; OWED $3M IN UNPAID BILLS GIMLI, Man.—A Manitoba hotel owner says he has been forced to lay off more than 50 employees, close his hotel and put it up for sale because Ottawa owes him $3 million in unpaid bills. Mike Bruneau, who owns Misty Lake Lodge in Gimli, says he’s owed the money for feeding and housing dozens of aboriginal people who were displaced by the 2011 flood. Bruneau was paid a portion of the cash but says he is owed more. By Chinta Puxley. ONTARIO PCS, NDP ON ATTACK OVER ENERGY RATES
❰❰ 1
TORONTO—Ontario’s opposition parties are focusing their campaigns today on helping people deal with soaring electricity bills, which they blame on the Liberal government’s energy policies. Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak says he’d end subsidies for wind and solar power and cut the “bloated” bureaucracy at Hydro One and Ontario Power Generation to help lower rates. BELL 1ST, ROGERS LAST IN NETFLIX CANADA ISP RANKING
Canada but has been moved to a safe location. The investigation began in December in response to third-party allegations that the woman was being exploited, police said in a release. “The Ottawa police will continue to thoroughly investigate any complaints of human trafficking,” said Insp. Paul Johnston. “It is important to stress that help is available for the victims.” A spokesman for Foreign Affairs
said in an email Friday night that the Canadian government brought the allegations to the attention of police and has been assisting in the investigation. The embassy said it provided full co-operation to Canadian authorities to “the extent defined by international law.” “We express confidence in the legal processes of Canada and look forward to working on addressing concerns in a manner consistent with our friendly bilateral relations.” ■
TORONTO—Bell is first and Rogers ranks last in Netflix’s first Canadian comparison of connection speeds. Users accessing Netflix through Bell’s fibre optic network in April had an average speed of 3.19 megabits per second, while Rogers’ average speed was just 1.67 Mbps, according to the streaming company. HIGH COURT BEHIND DELAY ON IMPAIRMENT LAW? OTTAWA—Nine months after promising to toughen drunk-driving laws, Justice Minister Peter MacKay still has not introduced legislation—and an adverse constitutional ruling from the Supreme Court of Canada may help explain why. The high court threw out an element of the 2008 “Tackling Violent Crime Act,” in a littlenoticed constitutional pushback against the Harper government’s tough-on-crime agenda.
Canada News
19 FRIDAY MAY 16, 2014
Canada’s post slump jobs record not as impressive as believed, says BoC BY BILL GRAVELAND The Canadian Press OTTAWA—Canada’s official unemployment rate is among the most watched economic indicators by markets and policymakers, but it may be overestimating the actual health of the country’s labour market, according to the Bank of Canada. The central bank says in a new research paper that unemployment rates have “overstated” the jobs recovery in Canada and particularly in the U.S. because they fail to capture a complete picture of what is happening in the labour market. In the paper, the bank creates a composite labour market indicator, or LMI, that combines a broad range of measures to paint what it says is a more accurate picture of what has occurred since the 2008-09 recession. The LMI, which includes less publicized indicators such as hours worked, wage growth, long-time unemployment, labour underutilization and other data points, resolves one of the puzzles of current statistics that has the U.S. unemployment rate at 6.3 per cent, well below Canada’s 6.9 per cent, even though by all other measures the U.S. labour market is far weaker. But it also shows Canada’s jobs recovery, while stronger than in its southern neighbour, has not been as strong as the unemployment rate would suggest. Between 2010 and 2013, the bank says Canada’s jobless rate
fell 0.9 percentage points. But the LMI fell only 0.5 percentage points in the same period, suggesting more softness in the labour market than reflected in the official unemployment rate. “Although the unemployment rate in Canada has evolved largely in line with overall labour market conditions since the recession, the article has shown that it may have modestly overstated the extent of recent improvement,” the research paper notes. “This article highlights the need to consider a broad range of labour market variables in addition to the unemployment rate.” The paper was one of five issued by the central bank Tuesday on the economy and financial markets, including reports on the increasing use of the loonie as a global reserve currency and on digital currencies. Canada’s impressive job creation record since the recession has been a key talking point among Conservative government ministers to back their economic management, including until recently, support for importing temporary foreign workers to meet labour shortages. But there has also been discordant voices, including from the Parliamentary Budget Officer, that suggest labour shortages have been exaggerated. Recently, the government radically revised downward it’s estimate of job vacancies by dropping job postings from Kijiji after the PBO called the data unreliable. Employment Minister Jason
PA-MAX-ANNIV-2014-Philippine Canadian Inquirer.indd 1
Rally at Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada over Canadian job losses. PHOTO BY DAVID P. LEWIS / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
Kenney suggested this week in the House of Commons that there are no postings listed on the federal government’s controversial job bank website that are older than six months. He said the normal maximum posting period is 30 days, even though - when checked - many of the jobs listed on the job bank are no longer available. The new Bank of Canada research suggests that while by some measures Canada’s labour market has recovered, by others there’s still a long way to go. “The percentage of unemployed workers who are considered long-term unemployed ... peaking at just over 20 per
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cent in June 2011 ... has not shown much improvement. . .” the bank notes. As well, “jobfinding rates,” after an initial improvement following the slump, have “since fallen back to a level only slightly above the low point witnessed during the recession.” In other research paper, the bank notes that the loonie has gained in prominence as a global reserve currency since the recession. It calculates foreign governments now hold about US$200 billion in Canadian currency, almost twice the IMF estimate, or about 1.8 per cent of the total world reserve holdings.
The global confidence in the loonie, which is backed by relatively low levels of government debt, has resulted in lower bond yields and reduced Ottawa’s interest payments more than otherwise would have been the case. But increasing use of the loonie as a reserve currency can also reduce market liquidity, the bank says, which can also cause bond yields to rise. The bank also examined the growth of so-called digital currencies, such as the Bitcoin and Amazon coins, concluding that while they have the potential to challenge more traditional currencies, none is widely used at the moment.
2014-05-13 4:25 PM
World News
MAY 16, 2014
FRIDAY 20
Report: Vietnam, Chinese ships exchange water cannon fire near oil rig in disputed waters BY CHRIS BRUMMITT The Associated Press HANOI, VIETNAM—A Vietnamese patrol boat and several Chinese vessels blasted each other with water cannons Monday near an oil rig recently positioned by Beijing in disputed waters, Vietnamese state media reported, in the latest incident in a dangerous standoff between the two nations. The Tuoi Tre newspaper said it was the first time that Vietnamese vessels have responded to aggressive Chinese actions close to the deep sea rig, which was positioned May 1 in an area of the South China Sea claimed by Beijing and Hanoi. Both sides have accused the other of ramming ships. Vietnam has presented a video showing Chinese ships hitting its vessels. In Washington, Secretary of State John Kerry said Mon-
day the U.S. and other nations involved in navigating in the South and East China Seas were deeply concerned about the “aggressive” Chinese action. “We want to see a code of conduct, we want to see this resolved peacefully through the law of the sea, through arbitration, through any other means but not direct confrontation and aggressive action,” Kerry said before a meeting at the State Department with Singapore’s Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam. Tuoi Tre newspaper, which had two journalists on the ship, said the Vietnamese vessel displayed a banner in Chinese urging Beijing to withdraw the rig. Late Sunday, another newspaper quoted the coast guard chief as saying China had widened an exclusion zone around the rig to a radius of 10 miles (16 kilometres) and had deployed fighter jets to fly low over Viet-
namese ships. Vietnam has reacted with fury to the Chinese deployment, part of a campaign by Beijing to slowly cement its extensive sovereignty claims in the South China Sea, disregarding the anger of smaller Southeast Asian nations such as Vietnam and the Philippines which have rival claims. Vietnam has demanded that China pull back the rig. China has refused, saying the waters are its “inherent territory.” On Sunday, thousands of Vietnamese protesters took to the streets in Hanoi chanting
anti-China slogans. For the first time, the protests were covered by Vietnamese state media, indicating that the authoritarian government supported them. Prime Minster Nguyen Tan Dung said China had taken an “extremely dangerous action that has been directly endangering peace, stability, security, and marine safety.” He was speaking Sunday at a meeting of Southeast Asian leaders in Myanmar that failed to come up with a statement criticizing China. “Vietnam won’t be successful in putting pressure on Chi-
na,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Monday, adding that China hopes Vietnam will be “dispassionate and stop impeding China’s operations.” The standoff close to the disputed Paracel Islands, which China seized from U.S.-backed South Vietnam in 1974, has led to fears of a fully blown naval confrontation between the two nations, which have fought one land and two sea battles over the last 40 years. Vietnam says the islands fall within its continental shelf and 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone. China claims sovereignty over the area and most of the South China Sea, which is a rich fishing area and could have large oil and natural gas deposits. ■ Associated Press writer Zhao Liang in Beijing contributed to this report.
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World News
21 FRIDAY MAY 16, 2014
Boko Haram leader vows abducted Nigerian girls will not be seen again until fighters are freed BY MICHELLE FAUL AND SUNDAY ALAMBA The Associated Press LAGOS, NIGERIA—Looking sad and frightened, dozens of barefoot girls sat huddled together wearing grey Muslim veils as they chanted Quranic verses in Arabic. Some Christians among them said they had converted to Islam. In the video released Monday, the Boko Haram terrorist network offered the first public glimpse of what it claimed were some of the nearly 300 girls kidnapped from a Nigerian school a month ago—and issued an ominous threat. The girls will not be seen again, the group’s leader said menacingly, until the government frees his imprisoned fighters. “I swear to almighty Allah, you will not see them again until you release our brothers that you have captured,” Abubakar Shekau warned, an assault rifle slung across his chest. It is not known how many suspected Boko Haram members are detained by security forces. Hundreds were killed
last month when Shekau’s fighters stormed the military’s main northeastern barracks in Maiduguri, the birthplace of Boko Haram and the headquarters of a year-old military state of emergency to put down the 5-year-old Islamic uprising. In the video, two of the girls were singled out for questioning. “Why have you become a Muslim?” one girl, who looked to be in her early teens, was asked. “The reason why I became a Muslim is because the path we are on is not the right path,” the girl said, nervously shifting her body from side to side, her eyes darting back and forth. “We should enter the right path so that Allah will be happy with us,” added the girl, who said her name had been changed to Halima because she had converted from Christianity to Islam. Like the other girls, she wore a bulky grey hijab that covered her body from head to toe, revealing only her face. A second girl, who appeared to be in her mid-teens, was asked if she or any of the others had been mistreated. No, she said, adding that they had
Boko Haram emir Abubakar Shekau on video. PHOTO FROM INFORMATIONNG.COM
experienced nothing “except righteousness.” As the girls chanted Islamic verses, some clasped their hands together in what appeared to be the Christian style of prayer before quickly turning their palms upward, as Muslim worshippers do. The girls’ families have said most of those seized April 15 from a school in the northeast-
ern town of Chibok are Christians. It was impossible to fully authenticate the video, though parents were trying to turn on a generator in Chibok, hoping to watch the video and identify their daughters, said a town leader, Pogu Bitrus. “There’s an atmosphere of hope—hope that these girls are alive, whether they have been
forced to convert to Islam or not,” he told The Associated Press by telephone. “We want to be able to say, ‘These are our girls.”‘ The video showed about 100 girls, indicating they may have been broken up into smaller groups as some reports have indicated. Fifty-three girls managed to escape and 276 remain missing, police say. Bitrus said vegetation in the video looked like the Sambisa Forest, some 20 miles (30 kilometres) from Chibok, where the girls were believed to have been spirited away. In Washington, White House spokesman Jay Carney said U.S. intelligence experts were “combing over every detail” of the latest recording. He said administration officials have seen the video and “have no reason to question its authenticity.” In a video last week, Shekau threatened to sell the girls into slavery. It arrived amid unverified reports that Christians among the students had been forced to convert to Islam and that some were taken to neighbouring Cameroon and Chad, where they were forced to marry their abductors. Boko Haram means “Western education is sinful.” The latest video, obtained by The Associated Press, came through channels that have provided previous messages ❱❱ PAGE 39 Boko Haram
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Immigration
MAY 16, 2014
FRIDAY 22
PH ConGen Tamayo speaks up for TFWs in Canada BY CHING DEE Philippine Canadian Inquirer IN THE middle of the ongoing crackdown on temporary foreign workers (TFW), Philippine Consul General to Ottawa Eric Tamayo spoke up for the TFWs. Tamayo said the Conservative government needs to think about foreign workers after last week’s moratorium on the restaurant sector. The recently enacted moratorium has kept the restaurant sector from the TFW program, which means a considerable number of foreign workers are now left hanging, waiting for the government’s next move. Temporary foreign workers’ length of stay in service is 90 days, after which they send their application to the federal government to find a new temporary job. Failure to find employment means going back to their home country. This decision to suspend the restaurant sector from includ-
ing foreign workers in their employ came from reports that certain McDonald’s franchises in Victoria were hiring temporary Filipino employees while Canadian applicants were being turned down. “The understanding among many Filipinos taking part in the program is they have come to Canada to take on the work that not many people in Canada nowadays would like to do… We’ve had the occasion to talk with some of the workers on the ground and they’re happy with having been given the opportunity to work in Canada… Certainly the last thing on their mind would be if they are taking the job of anybody else,” said Tamayo. “They’re just terrified right now. They don’t know what to do with themselves… People need answers now,” said Justicia for Migrant Workers spokesperson Chris Ramsaroop, who believes that a growing negative impression on foreign workers is a cause for concern. In fact, an advocacy group
lobbying for foreign workers said that all this animosity is on the breach of racism. The New Democratic Party (NDP) is moving a motion for a full-day debate as the Conservatives are calling for a debate on Tuesday in the House of Commons. NDP’s motion will focus on appealing for a broader suspension, which will include all kinds of jobs that re-
quire a lower set of skills. NDP is also motioning for the House and Auditor-General to conduct an urgent audit of the said program. When asked about the proposed audit, Kenney said, “In terms of the program, if and when there are abuses, we act clearly and quickly… We are about to come out with another phase of further reforms to en-
sure that Canadians always and everywhere get the first crack at available jobs, and that that program is only used as a limited and last resort by employers.” Kenney reproached NDP for reportedly standing in the way of businesses hiring TFWs. While NDP leader Thomas Mulcair turned the tables on the Employment Minister. “What’s astonishing today is to hear Jason Kenney stand up and say there’s all sorts of problems with the management of the temporary foreign worker program. He’s been the guy managing it for the past six years,” said Mulcair. “We’re going to continue to put pressure on the government so that they change this program.” In the past years, the Philippines has been the no.1 source country—with Mexico in second place—when it comes to recommended labour market options. This entails a screening process to verify that Canadians are not available for a certain task before offering it to foreign workers. ■
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Immigration
23 FRIDAY MAY 16, 2014
Temporary foreign worker ban: Ottawa speeds up Kenney tells Quebec to hire visa process for its unemployed youth Mexicans who want to come to Canada The Canadian Press
OTTAWA—Quebec just has to hire its own youth and unemployed instead of relying on temporary foreign workers, federal Employment Minister Jason Kenney said Monday. The province is seeking an exemption to a federal moratorium so restaurants in the province can hire such workers. Kenney told the Commons the moratorium was imposed to protect Canadians who are looking for work. The federal minister pointed out that 14 per cent of Quebec youth are unemployed as are 20 per cent of new arrivals to the province. Ottawa announced the moratorium in late April after reports suggested the program
was being abused by the foodservice industry. A spokesman for Quebec Immigration Minister Kathleen Weil said on the weekend the province has no problem with the program and that restaurants need temporary foreign workers to keep operating, especially in summer. The moratorium has been widely criticized by industry groups, with Quebec’s restaurant association calling it “exaggerated and unreasonable.” Earlier on Monday, federal Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander said the moratorium was imposed for “very good reasons.” “There was abuse and we are absolutely committed to completing the review and the reform we have underway,” he said at an unrelated event in
Montreal. “And I can assure you and her (Weil) and Canadians across the country that when this program is relaunched, it will not be subject to abuse.” He said the hiring of foreign temporary workers should be a “last resort.” “There are young people across Canada...who are looking for permanent jobs and summer jobs and our first obligation as employers is to look to the domestic market.” Weil and Alexander were to have met Monday but it was unclear whether they did. The temporary foreign worker program has ballooned from about 100,000 people in 2002 to as many as 338,000 now working across the country. In 2013 alone, Ottawa approved approximately 240,000 temporary foreign workers. ■
BY PETER RAKOBOWCHUK The Canadian Press MONTREAL—The federal government has launched a new visa program aimed at making it easier and faster for Mexicans who want to come to Canada. Citizenship and Immigration minister Chris Alexander made it clear on Monday, however, that there are no plans to get rid of visas. He noted that Canada had 10,000 asylum claims from Mexico six years ago. “Fortunately, under a reform system, that number last year was down to less than 100,” he told reporters at Montreal’s Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport.
Alexander underlined that visas are the norm in Canada’s international relations. The federal minister made the comments after he launched what’s called the Can+ program, which will make visa processing quicker for Mexicans who have travelled to Canada or the United States within the last 10 years. “We are determined to make sure that legitimate travellers from Mexico are coming to Canada in large numbers and growing numbers,” Alexander said. He said Can+ will streamline and expedite visa processing for 50 per cent of Mexicans who travel to Canada and free up agents to work on other cases. ❱❱ PAGE 43 Ottawa speeds
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Seen & Scenes
CAST OF ANGELS The Cast of Angels Band is a Canadian rock band which was formed in 2009 in Toronto, Ontario. Members are Chris (vocals/bass); Orlando (guitar); and Mike (drums); and all of them are Filipino-Canadians. The band has played in various Toronto venues including the Opera House, Kathedral, Rockpile, Smiling Buddha, Lee’s Palace and various Filipino-Canadian owned venues such as MStudio, The Warehouse and Cusina. The group has likewise performed in various Filipinos cultural and musical events in Canada. It co-owns a rehearsal and recording facility called COAL Studio which aims to assist local musicians in honing their musical skills as well as producing and recording music.
MAY 16, 2014
FRIDAY 24
GRANDE PRAIRIE OUTREACH Consul General Neil Ferrer and Northern Alberta Hon. Consul Esmeralda Agbulos hand out a Certificate of Appreciation to Arjay Julve of the CarcanMadCarLan Association of Alberta, for assistance in the second Consular Outreach Program in Grande Prairie conducted by the Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver. Over 800 Filipinos were served during said outreach.
You can find more information about the band via Facebook and Twitter or by visiting their official site at http:// www.castofangels.com. St. Jamestown News Service, Dindo Orbeso
Twenty former Filipinos in Grande Prairie, AB. reacquired their citizenship under the Dual Citizenship Law.
PRINCE OF PEACE KC SPRING DANCE
REBUILDING THE NEW RIZAL MISSISSAUGA CHAPTER
Knights of Columbus # 9144 recently celebrated their Spring Dance at the Prince of Peace Hall in Scarborough. Photo shows L-R: SK George R. Poblete; SK Andrew Anyaele; SK Jimmy Marasigan; PGK Bro. Rommel Acayan; Rev. Fr. Regulo Imperial, chaplain; SK Seth Aniceto; SK Keith Coutinho; SK Ed Prillo; Allan Figueiredo; David Mathias; SK Johnny Cabildo; and SK Berty Nadarajha.
Tom Ng, KCR, recruited four new knights and initiated them to the Knights of Rizal in Mississauga recently. They are Terry Garcia, Mark Anthony Harrison, John Paul Javier and John James Javier. GTA West Deputy Area Commander Joe Damasco, KGOR, also re-activated six former Knights from Mississauga namely Romy Rafael, Rodel Ramos, Dean Garcia, Tony Ang, Edwin Sepidosa, and Ed de Leon. Canada Region brought their Degree Team and some chapter commanders came to support the event including LKoR ladies Tina Ng, Bing Marasigan, Fe Paca Taduran, Dolores Poblete; and Terry Garcia. Right: Canada region commanders with the new knights (Sitting L-R) Jaime Marasigan, Eduardo Prillo, George R. Poblete, Alexcs Trinidad, and Joe Damaco (Standing L-R) Joaquin Taduran Jr., Bert Mondragon, Dong Mineque,Terry Garcia, Mark Anthony Harrison, John Paul Javier, and John James Javier, Tom Ng, Manny Yanga, and Mario Alpuerto Far right: Tom Ng, KCR and George Poblete, KGCR, the pinning of KR Medal by Bing Marasigan, LKoR on Terry Garcia, KR.
For photo submissions, please email info@canadianinquirer.net. www.canadianinquirer.net
Seen & Scenes
25 FRIDAY MAY 16, 2014
MOVE FOR HEALTH FESTIVAL Right: Richmond’s Move for Health Festival, held May 10, 2014, at Minoru Park wrapped up Richmond’s Move for Health week (May 5-10), a week-long campaign that promoted awareness on the benefits of healthy, active living for people of all ages. Shown during the Annual Walk are city officials Councillors Johnston and McNulty with Mayor Brodie.
PICPA-VANCOUVER SEMINAR Another PICPA-Vancouver Chapter professional development seminar was conducted by Jun Balmes, Jr. on Apr. 26, 2014, on the topic “Quickbooks”. Coinciding with the talk is the induction of new members.
PRESIDENTIAL AWARDS FOR OVERSEAS FILIPINOS The Commission on Filipinos Overseas announced that the nomination for the 2014 Presidential Awards for Filipino Individuals and Overseas will end on May 31, 2014. The awards are conferred by the President of the Philippines every two years to give recognition to Filipinos and other individuals or organizations who contribute to Philippine development initiatives, or promote the interests of overseas Filipino communities. The awards are also given to overseas Filipinos who have exceptionally distinguished themselves in their work or profession, and have thereby brought honor to the Filipino nation. A distinct category in the awards is also reserved for foreign individuals or organizations for their exceptional contribution to the Philippines and for advancing the cause of overseas Filipino communities. For more details, get in touch with the Philippine Embassy in Ottawa or the Philippine Consulates in Vancouver and Toronto.
MS WORLD CANADA Right: Annora Bourgeault, 2014 Ms. World Canada, is congratulated by her predecessor Camille Munro after the pageant held on May 11, 2014, at the Bell Performing Arts Center in Surrey, B.C. Above: 2014 delegates of Ms. World Canada. Photos by Angelo Siglos.
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MAY 16, 2014
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS:
FILIPINO-CANADIAN IN FOCUS Every week, the Philippine Canadian Inquirer celebrates the unwavering Filipino spirit through a feature called “Filipino-Canadian in Focus.” The feature recognizes the achievements of Filipinos living in Canada who have shown concern for the community, success in spite of trials, and the uniquely Pinoy practice of “bayanihan.” This year, we are welcoming nominations for the next subject of “Filipino-Canadian in Focus.”
MECHANICS: - All nominees must have (a) Filipino heritage/ancestry - All nominees must be residing in Canada at the time of nomination - Nominees from all industries are welcome (e.g. medical/health, politics, community service, business, entertainment, charity institutions, etc.) - Who can nominate? Anybody.
Fill up the nomination form online by scanning the code with your smartphone or by visiting InFocus.canadianinquirer.net.
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FRIDAY 26
27 FRIDAY MAY 16, 2014
FILIPINO-CANADIANS IN FOCUS: A TRIBUTE
Dr. Miguel “Mike” Tecson and Julia Gonzalez Tecson BY MEL TOBIAS Special to Philippine Canadian Inquirer MIKE AND Julia Tecson, one of the five pioneering Filipino-Canadian couples to be honored during the 2014 EXPLORASIAN Recognition Gala, will be recipients of The Community Builder Awards 2014. They, as well as the other four couples, certainly deserve it. The erudite, friendly, welltravelled and unassuming couple migrated to Vancouver in the early 60s, long before the city became a much-desired destination of Filipino immigrants. Mike and Julia are both from San Miguel, Bulacan, Philippines but they never met there. Fate, destiny, mysterious coincidences or maybe a synchronistic situation brought them together for a reason. Mike initially wanted to be an architect but ended up taking medicine at the University of Santo Tomas, specializing in psychiatry. He interned in Hawaii then completed his residency in Psychiatry at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. While his US papers were being processed, he spent the time exploring Canada. Vancouver was his first stop. That’s when he realized he could actually practice medicine in Vancouver. Julia, on the other hand, majored in Sociology at Ateneo de Davao and was about to be a Fulbright Scholar of the United States Information Service. Her plans changed when she was accepted to work at the Philippine Pavilion in the Seattle World Fair in Washington. This meant that she must stay in Seattle for 10 months and must learn everything about the Philippines. During this time, she visited Vancouver when the Bayanihan Dance Troupe performed at the University of British Columbia. According to her, there was no highway yet and the trip from Seattle took a long time. It was at that time in this part of North America that these two people from San Miguel Bulacan finally met and got to
The author with the Tecsons. The Tecsons with VAHMS' Esmie Gayo McLaren.
know each other. It was love at first sight for Mike, who had to act fast as time was limited. Due to his private practice, he couldn’t possibly go back and forth between Seattle and Vancouver. Also, Julia’s 10 months at the fair was coming to a close after which she will proceed to Fordham University for her scholarship. Mike made an urgent decision and told Julia, “You can either have me and Vancouver or be a Fulbright scholar at Fordham University.” Clearly, Julia made the right choice. They were married on December 15,1962 at St. Augustine Catholic Church in Kitsilano, and Vancouver became their home. The marriage was blessed with two children—Marisa lives in Los Angeles with husband Greg Johnston and daughter Natalie. David lives in New York. Sadly, Julia’s Recognition Gala award will have to be given posthumously. Julia passed away this April. She was 80 years old. The following are excerpts from an interview of the Tecson couple sometime in January. When asked about their Vancouver impressions in the 60’s, both were candid about their observations. Julia was first to reply, “Vancouver gives the impression of being a really small town. Movie tickets were $.60 cents then $.75 cents then a dollar. We met the Philippine consular people. I was working in an office and my office mates could not place me. The fact that I am not yellow, I am not black, not Chinese or Indian confused them. When I asked them if they know about the Philippines, they said they did
not know anything about the country and about Filipinos.” Mike expanded on Julia’s story. “There were very few psychiatrists in Vancouver. The first thing I was told was that to practice medicine was like being a member of a private club. When you’re ‘in’, you’re ‘in’ no matter where you came from. The color of the skin is irrelevant. There were only 7 Filipinos I knew, 3 doctors and the others from the Philippine consulate. Then, many Filipinos came slowly. Vancouverites did not know anything about the Philippines. They said that the Philippines is not a commonwealth country. Therefore, Canada may be at war with you. The orientation in the 50’s and 60’s was very British. My fellow doctors walked around with their pipes, tweed coats. In meetings, we started with a toast to the Queen. The UBC Museum of Anthropology has a Tecson Collection, which Mike explained with passion—”They are all from our personal collection, collected during our travels abroad. You see many artifacts, ceramics, pottery, fabric, textile, and paintings. Many are from the Philippines but there are also many from Southern China, Thailand, Vietnam. I trained at the Oxford University so I have the academic training in archeology. The Tecson Collection is at the Asia Pacific Foundation at the Vancouver Museum and UBC. More items will be included and the exhibition will be expanded after the certification process.” The Filipino community in Vancouver is now huge and more new immigrants are coming daily. Having lived in Vanwww.canadianinquirer.net
The Tecson Collection at the UBC Museum of Anthropology. PHOTO BY ROSANNA WISDEN
couver for a long time, Mike and Julia had this to say to new arrivals or immigrants. Mike answered first. “First thing is to get a job before landing in Canada. It is helpful to have social skills. Newcomers should get involved and be active in their new environment. People will not just come around; you have to prove them your worth. Sadly, after a few years, immigrants have a tendency to fall back on their own countrymen or people they have known. This is limiting because they don’t expand in the community. There is a tremendous reluctance to go outside their realm of familiarity.” Julia added, “ Find out what is important to you and there should be interest outside work or the office. Join whatever group or society you find inter-
esting to learn more of the outside world. Don’t be afraid or be insecure. Keep joining until you find the right group. You should know and learn about your new country, Canada.” ■ This interview was made possible through Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society’s (VAHMS) explorASIAN 2014. Portions of the interview, along with the interviews of other Filipino First Families couples, will be shown in a short video of the “Filipino First Families, First Stories Project” during the Recognition Gala on June 1, 2014 at 5:30pm at the Pink Pearl Restaurant, Vancouver. Tickets through Esmie 604-437-6353. Personal thanks to Anna Pansacola for her assistance in the preparation of this tribute.
FRIDAY MAY 16, 2014
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Finding time for "Me" time Looking Out for Number One BY ANGIE DUARTE Philippine Canadian Inquirer IT IS with some degree of difficulty and discomfort that I sit here and write this piece. Somehow, it resonates with the echoes of hypocrisy: “Practice what you preach, woman!!!”—thus screams the voice of conscience somewhere in my mind’s inner recesses. I have to admit, I am not very good at putting “ME” first. Not very good, at all. Maybe it’s because I get caught up in the vicious cycle of “Wake up-work-work some more- sleep-repeat.” Between job(s) and chores (I belong to the nearly extinct species of household help-less Philippine residents), it seems there are never enough hours in a day to get all my work done. Maybe it is also because I am a mother; and mothers, by nature, tend to put everyone else’s needs before their own. In today’s society in which most women “have it all” (motherhood, career, community involvement, plus meaningful relationships), finding quality time for self is especially challenging. We may “have it all;” all, that is, but “me-time.” Whatever the underlying reasons, more often than not, I find myself holding the short end of the “me-time” stick. And by short, I mean very, very short. So you see the dilemma in which I find myself: writing this article about the importance of me-time, and yet never having enough time for it. I am preaching to my own choir, here. A very stubborn choir that knows and believes in the importance of the matter, and yet falls short of applying it. Me-time matters!
The world today is such that career and family generally come with an enormous amount of pressure attached. The drive to compete and succeed in both arenas is perhaps
greater than ever. This pressure usually means that most folk, myself most definitely included, ignore those two tiny letters that form one very weighty word: ME. This, although true for men, is especially true in the case of women. "There's a tremendous amount of stress and pressure put on women: being parents, being daughters, mothers, wives, professionals. All of these roles combined leave many of us not taking adequate care of ourselves—which is what sustains us and gives us the energy to take care of all these other responsibilities that we have," says Randy Kamen Grainger, EdD, a Wayland, Mass., psychologist and life coach specializing in women's issues. Minus the guilt
From this timely and accurate statement of Dr. Grainger, we glean that taking care of one’s self is the very basis of our ability to take care of other people, as well as our other duties. Hence, the invaluable role that me-time plays. Yet we push ourselves so much in all areas that me-time is the first to fly out the window. To boot, on the rare occasion that we do take time for me-time, we often find ourselves feeling guilty for the “indulgence” rather than viewing it for what it really is: a necessity. Beth Evans, manager of Mental Health Promotion at Alberta Health Services points out that "We are entitled to breaks. People need to respect that for themselves. You are taking care of yourself by taking a break. It ensures you'll have the energy to return to whatever other roles you play, whether as a parent or a professional, or whatever your roles in life generally are." Me-time should be a guiltfree part of our daily routine, if we are to remain functional, productive, effective, and—let’s not forget—happy members of
the human race. Stress buster
We have gotten so used to the noise, the hustle and bustle of life that these all-too often drown out the part of us that cries out for metime. Ironically, many of us even become dependent on the stressors of this fastpaced existence. We push deadlines, for instance, to the last minute; addicted, almost, to the stress that this brings. Like a carriage without a horse, we do not know how to get ourselves going sans the stress. U n f o r t u n a t e l y, too much stress is not very good for you. In fact, too much stress can kill. Stress is a reaction of our body to what is going on around us, and it is part-and-parcel of our biological makeup. Experts in the field will tell you that a bit of stress is necessary in order for us to work at peak performance. Yes, some stress is beneficial; but too much of it—especially when it becomes chronic stress—is bad. We all know this, yet shun the truth much as cigarette smokers addicted to the nicotine fix ignore graphic pictures and the Surgeon General’s warning. Constant, heavy stress leads to chronic stress; which causes anxiety; burnout; mental, physical, emotional fatigue; and has been linked to numerous ailments. Taking time out for me-time is one of the best ways of dealing with and managing life’s stresses. Dr Shalini Anant, clinical psychologist, says, "If you ignore yourself for a long time, it
can actually take a toll on your mental as well as physical health. It can lead to lack of concentration and disorientation. A lot of negative thoughts keep troubling us, hence there should be times when we need to just be by ourselves." Making “ME” a priority
So now that we are hopefully convinced that we need metime, how to do it? How do we make this a priority in our fastpaced lives? To find time for ourselves, it is helpful to remember these tips: • Plan your 'me' time. It won’t happen by magic; neither will you be forced into it by some deus ex machina GrecoRoman inspired divine intervention of sorts. Only you can make time for yourself. • Reassess your daily schedule to determine where you can cut down on unnecessary activities in order to get more metime in each day. 15-20 minutes of time for yourself is the recommended minimum amount
for each day. • Once you have set aside and planned the time, guard the appointment! Treat this as you would a doctor’s appointment, or any other schedule of great import. • Learn to say “No.” Realize you cannot possibly do everything, for everyone, all the time. • Realize that it’s okay to designate and delegate some tasks to others. Get help from the people around you. • Treat your me-time as a “special date” with yourself, and forget the guilt that may try to rear up its ugly head. • List down the things you enjoy doing, and plan to do one item on the list each day. These items do not have to involve lengthy or expensive activities. • Last but not the least, kick back and simply do nothing, every now and then. This is a good way to recharge, reboot, and re-acquaint yourself with your “ME”-ness. Me-time: this choir sings its praises louder and clearer, with all that much more flourish, than ever before. And—more importantly—a newfound determination to live by it. ■
29 FRIDAY MAY 16, 2014
Your voice.
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Finding time for "Me" time
MAY 16, 2014
FRIDAY 30
Beauty and the Best: Lifehacks to stay fab BY CHING DEE Philippine Canadian Inquirer THEY SAY beauty has a price and most people agree, but staying fabulous doesn’t have to take forever. “Life hacks” aren’t just for household chores and home improvement. “Beauty hacks” are everywhere, too. From kissable, fuller lips using 3D technology to playing with fire for the perfect eye make-up, here are some of the most useful beauty hacks to stay fabulous without having to spend hours in front of the mirror. The Eyes
To conceal those pesky dark halfmoons under your eyes, try applying your concealer of choice using long strokes radiating from your eye toward your cheeks forming a fading triangle. This will create a better blend with your base make-up and will create a more natural look. Use white eyeshadow as a base to make colors pop. For brighter eyes, dab a little white or pearly-hued eyeshadow in the corner of your eye.
Out of gel/liquid eyeliner? No problem. Just warm up your regular eye pencil using a lighter for about 1 to 2 seconds et voila—your home-made gel liner! Of course it goes without saying that you should let it cool down a few seconds before using it on your eyes. For the perfect winged eyes, use the edge of a spoon as a pattern for an even look. The Lips
Use a lip liner to outline your lips and then fill it out to before applying your lipstick to make it last longer. This technique will also create a fuller look by emphasizing the shape of your lips. Most people call this shape “cupid’s bow.” Set your lipstick after putting it on. Place a piece of single-ply tissue over your lips. Using a thick brush with fine bristles, dab some loose powder (preferably translucent) over the tissue. This will set your lipstick and make it last longer. 3D technology isn’t just for movies anymore. It can also make your lips look plumper. Ergo, more kissable. Use some light colored eyeshadow and lightly dab some of it on your lower lip to create the illusion of fullness. For better results,
try to put it as close to your upper lip as possible. The Contour
Before we talk about contouring, let’s first talk about creating an even base coat. First of all, always wash, tone, and then moisturize. After the holy trinity of skin care, apply primer using your fingers and use concealer on problem zones. After priming and concealing comes contouring. On a personal note, I’ve never really paid much attention to contouring until I saw what a difference it made (thanks to miissangiiemariie on Tumblr). Using a shade browner than your skin color, apply some brown foundation below your cheekbones, above your eyebrows, and two rows along the bridge of your nose. Next, using a shade about two shades lighter than your skin tone, put on some lighter foundation on the middle of your forehead, the middle of your nose bridge, below your eyes, under your nose, and on your chin. Just blend blend blend using a kabuki brush (or any thick make-up brush, really) and now y o u’r e
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ready for war! To be completely honest, this technique takes practice but it’ll pay off in the end. The Hair
Never buy dry shampoo ever again— thanks to Shana of Fox Doll and Mod Cloth. Just mix two tablespoons each of corn starch, arrowroot powder, and rice flour, and then add about 6 to 10 drops of an essential oil of your choice. Shake around and congrats, you have your very own dry shampoo ready to use. If you don’t have the time to go to the salon or if you’re having an exceptionally difficult hair day, try the double pony technique for a fuller and longer head of hair. Make a half pony and then tie your hair below the half pony and let your hair cascade onto each other. To keep bobby pins in place, put some hairspray on them before pinning your hair. When using a curling iron, curl your hair midway to make it last longer. And speaking of curling, wrap your hair in some aluminum foil before using a curling iron or hair straightener for faster, better results. Use the ‘cool’ option on your hair blower to set your hairstyle. After washing your hair, please—by all means—do not rub your hair with the towel. Just squeeze your hair using the towel to dry it out. This will lessen the frizz and keep your hair smoother. Lastly, big and wide brushes are used to untangle your locks, while finer brushes are used to buff your hair and make it shinier. ■
Finding time for "Me" time
31 FRIDAY MAY 16, 2014
Pampering tips for moms Why volunteering is not BY KATHERINE MARFALTEVES Philippine Canadian Inquirer EVERYONE NEEDS to loosen up once in a while. And when I say everyone, even moms, who are perceived to be “superwomen,” need time away from the daily household chores and office tasks. If you are a mom and you think you can’t squeeze in a few hours to unwind, you are wrong. Here are some easy ways on how you can pamper yourself. • Take a 10-minute nap. As a mom, you are doing so much all the time. So, what a better way to divert from that crazy routine than to take a 10-minute nap. If you can't sleep, you can also read a few pages from a lifestyle magazine or a chapter of a book you’ve long neglected, or just lie on your bed with your feet up while listening to soothing music. • Meet a friend. Fix your schedule and allot a few hours to catch up with old friends. Talking over a cup of coffee while reminiscing your memories, fun and whimsical, and
chatting about your current lives are definitely good ways to pamper yourself. • Go to the salon. Get some manicure and pedicure. Or if you want to have a new hairstyle or a new hair color, go for it. • Soak in the tub. Moms can also pamper themselves while at home. In the middle of the day, or even late into the night, soak in a tub filled with warm water and rose petals and invigorating bath salts. • Get a massage. A good rubdown could be an absolute treat. Ask your friends to go with you but if they are not free, take this opportunity to spend a relaxing “me” time. • Shop for clothes, etc. Yes, we espouse retail therapy. Make sure not to dent the budget so much, though. And make sure to inform your husband. Tell him "A happy wife is a happy life." • Eat out. Give in to your cravings. Yes, that could be good for you from time to time. • Play sports. It will not only divert you from the many tasks/ obligations/responsibilities that you have, but it will also serve as a great and fun way to exercise and stay healthy. ■
only good for the community, but also for you BY THESSA SANDOVAL Special to Philippine Canadian Inquirer VOLUNTEERING IS a selfless deed. Because of the high demands of daily living these days, many find it almost impossible to make time for a volunteer job. Being able to set aside time to help others is very altruistic. Even though the true essence of volunteering is to make a difference in this world without really expecting anything in return, you’ll be surprised to know about the many benefits volunteerism can bring to your overall well-being. One of the mental health benefits you get from volunteering is it helps prevent depression. Because you are, most of the time, working with and reaching out to others in your community, it gives you the feeling of social inclusion. You get more opportunities to meet new people and make friends. Aside from new friends, volunteering also gives you new learning, experiences and skills. Contributing to the community gives a person a sense of pride and fulfillment, which boost self-confidence. In addition to its positive effects to mental health, volunteering has physical health benefits too. Studies done by Carnegie Mellon University in the U.S. showed that those who volunteered for 200 hours a year were less likely to develop hypertension, as their blood pressure were always lower. The respondents who volunteered had lower mortality risk after 4 years as well. But make sure that your intent for volunteering is not only for self-oriented reasons. The study also stated that those who volunteer only for personal gain still had mortality risk the same as non-volunteers. According to Helpguide.org, here are some questions you need to ask yourself when finding the right volunteer job: • Would you like to work with people or would you rather work in solitude? • Do you prefer to work alone or as part of a team? www.canadianinquirer.net
PHOTO BY SETH BUTLER / CC BY NC SA / FLICKR
• Are you better behind the scenes or do you prefer to take a more visible role? • How much time are you willing to commit? • How much responsibility are you ready to take on? • What skills can you bring a volunteer job? • What causes are important to you? Once you’ve answered all those questions, you’ll be on the right track to find the right opportunity. One of these volunteer opportunities might interest you:
reading books and the newspaper for the elderlies, and becoming a conversation partner to them.
Become a mentor
Build communities of hope
If you’re the type of person who believes that the future is in the hands of our youth, then the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada might be the perfect fit. The organization matches volunteers to children to become their mentor. This mentoring program gives young people the chance to reach their full potential and you the opportunity to change the course of your community’s future. Help the elderlies
Filipinos are always being taught early in life the importance of caring for the elderly. That is why many Filipinos have a soft spot for the aged. In Canada, there are many retirement homes looking for volunteers. Volunteer duties may include running errands and
Care for Mother Earth
There are many ways to care for our environment, but some people are still clueless about it. The Environmental Volunteer Network will give you opportunities to connect with different environmental organizations and municipal agencies, which will provide you hands-on experience and training in the field of conservation. Gawad Kalinga (GK) is offering “volun-tours” to those living outside the Philippines who are interested in building homes for the less fortunate and in learning more about the Filipino culture. GK volunteers participate in activities that range from the construction of infrastructure to facilitating support programs, such as health, education, values formation and productivity. As of April 8, almost 2,000 houses (out of its 6,000 target houses) have already been funded for the Yolanda (Haiyan) reconstruction project. ■ For other volunteer opportunities, you can also check Volunteer Canada’s website (www. volunteer.ca) or visit a volunteer center in your area.
FRIDAY MAY 16, 2014
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Entertainment
Miss Philippines-Earth 2014 goes to Cebuana beauty BY KATHERINE MARFALTEVES Philippine Canadian Inquirer THE 19-year-old Jamie Herrell of Cebu City was crowned Miss Philippines-Earth 2014 on Sunday, May 11 at the Mall of Asia Arena. Aside from her wit and beauty, Herrell also made an impact during the question and answer portion. Judge Akbayan partylist spokesperson Risa Hontiveros' question to her was: "Do you think that we, human beings, have been good children to Mother Earth?" She replied: "We haven't been good children. In fact, I believe that we are the number one cause of her problems." She added: "We are the reason why we're having climate change. We are the reason why we're having floods. But in return, if we can only help her, she can help us back and take care of us, too." According to the Miss Philippines-Earth website, Herrell is an animal rights advocate. "My environmental advocacy is anti-animal cruelty. Because I have seen how some people treat animals in a wrong way and I believe animals should be treated with love or at least in a proper manner," she said. Along with the Miss Universe, Miss World, and Miss International, Miss Earth is considered as among the world's
Jamie Herrell (third from left), together with the other winners. PHOTOS FROM FACEBOOK PAGE OF MISS PHILIPPINES-EARTH
four largest beauty pageants. In 2008, Philippines' representative Karla Henry won the Miss Earth title. Meanwhile, Angelee delos Reyes, last year's Philippine representative to the Miss Earth pageant, finished in the top eight of the contest. Here's the complete list of Miss Earth-Philippines 2014 winners : Miss Philippines - Earth: Cebu City, Jamie Herrell Miss Philippines - Water: Dumaguete City, Kimberly Covert Miss Philippines - Air: Tanauan City, Dianne Querrer Miss Philippines - Fire: Ga-
Jamie Herrell, Ms. Cebu, was crowned Ms. Philippines-Earth.
pan City, Bianca Paz Miss Philippines - Eco-Tourism: Dinalupihan City, Monique Manuel
Oriental - Kimberly Covert 9. Liloan, Cebu - Crystal Star Aberasturi 10. Sydney, Australia - Melanie Balagtas
Top 10 Finalists: 1. Gapan City - Bianca Paz 2. Cebu City - Jamie Herrel 3. Dinalupihan City, Bataan Monique Manuel 4. Tanauan City - Dianne Querrer 5. Duenas, Iloilo - Bencelle Bianzon 6. Cainta, Rizal - Maria Jenny Gonzales 7. Sta. Rita, Pampanga - Angelie Ocampo 8. Dumaguete City, Negros
Semi-finalists: 1. Dinalupihan City, Bataan Monique Manuel 2. Gapan City - Bianca Paz 3. San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija - Leslie Paz 4. Sta. Rita, Pampanga - Angelie Ocampo 5. Cainta, Rizal - Maria Jenny Gonzales 6. Tanauan City - Dianne Querrer 7. Cebu City - Jamie Herrel 8. Duenas, Iloilo - Bencelle
Bianzon 9. Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental - Kimberly Covert 10. Liloan, Cebu - Crystal Star Aberasturi 11. Davao City - Janelle Tee 12. Brussels, Belgium - Ashlejane Alcancia 13. Sydney, Australia - Melanie Balagtas 14. Makati City - Sarah Stewart 15. Muntinlupa City - Mary Anne Misa Special Awards: Miss Hana: Ms Davao City, Janelle Tee Miss Solaire: Ms Cebu City, Jamie Herrel Miss SM Markets: Ms Dumaguete City, Kimberly Covert â–
Entertainment
33 FRIDAY MAY 16, 2014
Claudine speaks up about conflict with siblings Philippine Canadian Inquirer CLAUDINE BARRETTO spoke up about her conflict with her siblings. In an interview with “Buzz ng Bayan” on Sunday, May 11, she detailed how their conflict started. The youngest among the Barretto siblings shared that it started in 2010, when her siblings Gretchen and Marjorie sent an ambulance to their house. “Nagpadala siya ng ambulansiya sa bahay namin ni Raymart (Santiago, her estranged husband). I was with my friends. Nakita ko kaagad si Marjorie, andoon si Gretchen. Paglabas ko, sabi ni Gretchen, ‘Can I please go in?’ Since kapatid ko naman siya, pinapasok ko sila. Later on dumating na yung ambulance with the pediatrician. I think there were eight men inside. I asked my sisters, ‘What is this?’ Nakita ko kasi na may
straightjacket itong mga ito,” she said. (They sent an ambulance to our house. I was with my friends. I saw Marjorie right away, Gretchen was there. When I went out, Gretchen said, ‘Can I please go in?’ Since she is my sister, I let them in. Later on, the ambulance with the pediatrician arrived. I think there were eight men inside. I asked my sisters, ‘What is this?’ I saw that they brought with them a straightjacket.) “I knew my rights because they were trespassing. Sabi ko sa kanila, ‘Saan? Sa drug addiction or sa mental illness?’ Hindi ko alam. Then sabi niya (Gretchen), ‘Basta doc, nag-overdose iyan,’” she said. ( I told them, ‘For drug addiction or mental illness?’ I didn’t know. Then, she said, doc, she overdosed.) Not mentally ill
In the same interview, Claudine refuted rumors that she is
PHOTO FROM FACEBOOK PAGE OF CLAUDINE BARRETTO
mentally ill. “ According to my psychiatrist, it is mental torture. Iba yung mental illness sa mental torture eh. (Mental illness is different from mental torture) I was diagnosed with battered wife syndrome,” she said.
She added that her sisters are bullying her. The 34-year-old Barretto said that she hates Marjorie the most for not allowing her to visit her nieces. Meanwhile, Marjorie denied Claudine’s accusations.
“Claudine, you never borrowed my children. You didn’t even try to call them. I never deprived you of seeing my children. Please don’t claim to love my children when not too long ago, you tried so hard to destroy them,” she said. “Claudine, for your information, mom and dad begged us to rush to your house because your personal assistant told them you’ve finished all your anti-anxiety medicines. We had with us a doctor and an ambulance from a very reputable hospital because we didn’t want you to die, Claudine,” Marjorie added. Marjorie also has an appeal to their parents. “Dad and mom, please don’t deny the fact that the orders to rush her to a hospital came from both of you. We did not have a straitjacket. That is a lie. Claudine, we were protecting you. We did not want you to die, most especially in front of your children,” she said. ■
Zac Efron wants to go back to the PH Vice Ganda admits breakup with boyfriend Philippine Canadian Inquirer
MANILA, PHILIPPINES— Hollywood actor Zac Efron wants to visit the Philippines again. “I want to go back to the Philippines! I really had so much fun there,” he said during an interview with the Manila Bulletin Entertainment for his latest movie, “Neighbors” at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York. It has been two years ago when the 26-year-old actor first visited the Philippines. Efron shared that his father David, a former merchant marine, has good words for the Philippines. “He always talked of the great food and the friendly people,” he said. The actor added that he also tried eating balut when he was in the country and he just loved it. “It’s just fun to be out of your element. It’s amazing to see how different peoples’ cares and concerns can be. I found it really just profound that at the end of every trip I was on a completely different mindset than
Philippine Canadian Inquirer VICE GANDA is single but happy. This he revealed in an interview with Push.com. “I am single. I am happy and single, happy and single parang ang bitter lang. Single ako pero okay lang,” (I am single, happy but a little bitter, but it’s okay) he said. The comedian-TV host did not reveal the identity of his boyfriend to protect him and his family.
He also revealed that he knew beforehand that the breakup was coming, making him more prepared to accept it. Though he is still hurting, he said that he is doing his best to feel better and enjoy life. “I will be okay. I am single and I am okay. Gusto ko din malaman nila na I am single para yung mga gustong manligaw sa akin manligaw na. Inviting?” (I also want them to know that I am single so those who want to court me, can court me.) ■
PHOTO FROM FACEBOOK PAGE OF ZAC EFRON
when I showed up at the beginning of the trip. It reminds you of what’s important. You’re only in the present which I found to be beautiful,” he said. In “Neighbors,” Zac portrays a fraternity leader, Teddy Sand-
ers who decides to live together with his frat brothers. The film also stars Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne and Dave Franco. ■ With report from Manila Bulletin www.canadianinquirer.net
PHOTO FROM FACEBOOK PAGE OF VICE GANDA
Entertainment
MAY 16, 2014 FRIDAY 34
Film Review: James Gray’s Ellis Island drama ‘The Immigrant’ sombre masterpiece BY JAKE COYLE The Associated Press FLOATING IN past a misty Statue of Liberty, James Gray’s “The Immigrant” somberly gathers its majesty as a metaphor-rich story of passage and survival. It’s an old tale told with rare precision, channeling grand themes into an intimate melodrama. Ellis Island, a portal of hope and new beginning for films from Elia Kazan’s “America, America” to Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather, Part II,” is here a more complicated rebirth. In 1921, Ewa (Marion Cotillard) arrives from Poland with her sister, Magda (Angela Sarafyan). A cough gets Magda quarantined and immigration officials are set to turn away Ewa (who arrives with rumours of being a “woman of low morals” from the ship). But there preying on such lost, pretty
women is Bruno Weiss (Joaquin Phoenix), who, with a bribe and a handshake, pulls her out of the line and brings her to his Lower East Side apartment. He’s overly courteous in a false, snake-oil salesman way. (Phoenix modeled him on Hollywood agents). She’s terrified and wary, and sleeps with an ice pick under her pillow. Bruno, a small-time impresario and pimp, welcomes her into his harem of women— many of them not long off the boat, themselves. They perform strip teases for hooting men in a small theatre, and bed them on the side. When they’re turned out of the theatre, Bruno takes them to a tunnel in Central Park to find johns. Cotillard’s Ewa is horrified by the situation she finds herself trapped in, but she’s also resolute to claw her way in New York and to raise money to get her sister out of the hospital. Gray, who co-wrote the script with the late Ric Menello, ob-
serves her stealing money from the girls or, to appear healthy for a deportation agent, pricking her finger to redden her cheeks with the blood. It’s not a clear cut story of an innocent exploited. The tenacious Ewa, who witnessed her parents beheaded, has been through worse back in Poland. And as despicable as Bruno is, he develops a love for Ewa and a contradictory urge to protect her. He rages with jealousy when his cousin, Emil (Jeremy Renner), a magician Ewa first sees perform at Ellis Island, pursues her. Surely, a handsome illusionist rhapsodizing about the American Dream—as Emil does in his act—is not the most subtle critique. If Emil embodies all the lies of America, Bruno is its ugly truths: capitalistic and shameless. For Phoenix, always unpredictable, volatile and raw, it’s perhaps his finest performance—one of sweeping contradictions, roiling turmoil
Joaquin Phoenix and Marion Cotillard in “The Immigrant.” PHOTO FROM IMDB.COM
and, as if the cherry on top, a late touch of Brando. Gray, whose grandparents emigrated from Russia, has made a career—from “Little Odesa” to “We Own the Night”— in portraying the working-class lives of Brooklyn immigrants and their descendants. In “The Immigrant,” with its Lower East Side tenements bathed in sepia tones (care of the excellent cinematography by Darius Khondji), he has gone to the source of his font. Gray has said he was inspired by Puccini, and
with a staggering last shot, “The Immigrant” reaches a crescendo of operatic beauty. “The Immigrant,” a Weinstein Co. release, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for “sexual content, nudity and some language.” Running time: 117 minutes. Three and a half stars out of four. ■ MPAA rating definition for R: Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
Sorry I’m not sorry: Some classic non apologies, including Clippers owner Donald Sterling’s The Associated Press NEW YORK—Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling only dug himself in deeper after slamming Magic Johnson when he was supposed to be atoning for his own racist remarks. But he’s not the first celebrity to learn the perils of making a non-apology apology. Sterling is facing fresh rebukes for repeatedly bringing up the former NBA star’s HIV status and calling him an unfit role model during an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper. Communications experts say this was among the worst apologies ever. “People should be watching this for a long time and understand what not to do in a television interview,” says Steve Adubato, who teaches crisis communications at New York University. Sterling made the classic mis-
take of dragging other people into a conversation that should have only been about him. An apology should be straightforward and sincere, not about what others may have done. “The apology has to be absolutely genuine,” says Amiso George, who teaches strategic communication at Texas Christian University Texas. “It has to be from the heart. Not something that the person has to do.” Here’s a look at other public figures who failed to simply say “I’m sorry” and why it didn’t work. Lance Armstrong
Disgraced Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong admitted last year to Oprah Winfrey that he led a doping scheme but peppered his apology with excuses rather than contrition. “I went and looked up the definition of cheat,” he said. “And the definition is to gain
an advantage on a rival or foe. I didn’t view it that way. I viewed it as a level playing field.” Paula Deen
In a clumsily edited video on YouTube last year, Paula Deen tried to apologize after court documents revealed she had admitted using racial slurs. But her apology was defensive, and it looked like a hostage video. That video was quickly scrapped and replaced with a second video and more defensiveness. “I want people to understand that my family and I are not the kind of people that the press is wanting to say we are,” the celebrity chef said.
exercise pants. In a video posted online last year, Wilson said to his workers: “I’m sorry to have put you all through this.” But he didn’t retract his original statements. Rob Ford
After Toronto Mayor Rob Ford was accused of smoking crack, he lashed out at the media, and then made a non-apology apology for an interview in which he suggested a reporter was a pedophile. Ford said it is “unfortunate that the word I did not say has been ascribed to me by the media, but I wish to sincerely apologize.” Ted Nugent
Chip Wilson
Chip Wilson, founder of Lululemon Athletica Inc., apologized to his employees, not the general public, after saying in a television interview that some women’s bodies “just don’t actually work” in his company’s www.canadianinquirer.net
After calling President Barack Obama a “subhuman mongrel,” rocker Ted Nugent apologized “for using the street fight terminology of subhuman mongrel.” He went on to say that he should have called Obama a “vi-
olator of his Constitution, the liar that he is.” Paul Lepage
Maine Gov. Paul LePage used a sexually vulgar phrase and said a Democratic senator had a “black heart” and “ought to go back in the woods and cut trees” for criticizing a LePage budget proposal. He later apologized to pretty much everyone except the senator, saying he was sorry if he offended anyone, but was trying to “wake the people of Maine up” to the fact that lawmakers are raising taxes. Ronald Reagan
Former President Ronald Reagan was a master of the non-apology apology. In a 1986 radio address admitting to missteps in the Iran-Contra scandal, the president famously said “mistakes were made”— a passive acknowledgement of wrongdoing that didn’t directly implicate anyone. ■
Entertainment
35 FRIDAY MAY 16, 2014
Asked about video Film Review: Gareth Edwards’ that appears to show chilling ‘Godzilla’ reboot Solange attacking Jay Z, upholds franchise legacy NYC hotel decries leak BY JESSICA HERNDON The Associated Press
The Associated Press NEW YORK—The Standard Hotel in New York City says it is investigating the leak of a security video that appears to show Beyonce’s sister, Solange, attacking Jay Z. Asked about the video on Monday by The Associated Press, the hotel issued a statement saying it is “shocked and disappointed that there was a clear breach of our security system.” TMZ posted the minute-long video Monday and said it was shot last week inside a Standard Hotel elevator. It appears to show Solange attacking Jay Z in Beyonce’s presence. A security guard intervenes. There is no audio. The hotel says the leaked video violates the confidentiality it provides customers.
“We are investigating with the utmost urgency the circumstances surrounding the situation and, as is our customary practice, will discipline and prosecute the individuals involved to our fullest capacity.” The celebrity site posted a longer, three-minute version of the video later Monday. Representatives for Beyonce, Jay Z and Solange didn’t immediately reply to emails seeking comment. The footage shows the performers in the outfits they wore to the Met Gala last week. Jay Z, 44, and Beyonce, 32, were married in 2008. They will kick-off their co-headlining “On the Run Tour” on June 25 in Miami. Solange, 27, recently performed at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, where Beyonce joined her onstage. ■
Jay Z and Beyonce during the MET Gala. PHOTO FROM FACEBOOK PAGE OF BEYONCE
NO ONE can blame Gareth Edwards for admittedly feeling nervous when asked to helm a remake of the biggest monster movie of all time. Sure, the only other film he had directed happened to be 2010’s “Monsters.” But this time, it was Godzilla. Well, the latest iteration of the 60-year-old franchise is in capable hands. Edwards’ “Godzilla” is a pleasingly paced 3-D spectacle that pays chilling homage to the artful legacy of the original 1954 film—Ishiro Honda’s “Gojira”—while emerging as its own prodigious monster movie. Created as a symbol of the nuclear threat following America’s atomic attacks on Japan in World War II, Godzilla’s reappearance suggests the nuclear tests conducted by the U.S. in the Pacific after the war were really meant to hold the radioactive dinosaur back. This story begins in Japan in 1999 as nuclear physicist Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston, edgy in an unbearable wig) investigates questionable seismic activity at a nuclear power plant on the coast of India. When a team at the plant, including his scientist wife, Sandra (an underused Juliette Binoche), dies in what everyone believes is a natural disaster, Joe dedicates his life to proving that what caused the devastation was anything but natural. His obsession creates a rift between himself and his son, Ford. Fifteen years later, we catch up with Ford (played by a placid but sexy Aaron Taylor-Johnson) in San Francisco, where he lives with his wife (Elizabeth Olsen) and their son. Serving in the U.S. Navy, Ford disarms bombs, a skill that later helps him save the planet from MUTOs—”Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism”— that emerge from a long dormancy and begin travelling the globe, feeding on radiation. Screenwriter Max Borenstein, working from a story by www.canadianinquirer.net
PHOTO FROM ONLINE24FULLMOVIES.COM
Dave Callaham, doesn’t bombard us with multiple narratives or a multitude of characters (Ken Watanabe and Sally Hawkins play scientists, and David Strathairn plays an admiral). Instead, the film focuses on Ford’s family story, which Borenstein takes his time developing. When we finally see Godzilla—just shy of an hour into the film—the anticipation has built to such a degree that we expect to be awe-struck. And we are. The tallest of any Godzillas before him, this one stands 355 feet high—about 30 stories— with glistening, scaly skin and dorsal fin spikes down his back. His terrifying yet textured roar shakes the theatre. Aiming for a realistic take on how we might react to an invasion by giant creatures, Edwards makes sure our view of them rarely shifts from the human perspective. Honouring the eerie music of the original, this film’s score by Alexandre Desplat (“Argo”) is equally menacing, rich with horns that complement the consistently serious tone of the movie. In the original film, made using stop-motion photography, an actor stomped around a miniature Tokyo in a latex suit. But in the hands of visual effects guru Jim Rygiel (“The Lord of the Rings” franchise),
the contemporary take looks incredibly fluid and Godzilla’s movements appear far more natural. But we’re not bombarded with excessive CGI here. Godzilla isn’t oversold, although for some, his lack of screentime won’t be satisfying enough. However, the balance between the family-focused story line and intense action sequences is bound to please others. A threat to the planet in the ‘50s version, Godzilla isn’t out to take the world down this time. He’s here to be its hero and his massive showdown— fiery radioactive breath and all—against the MUTOs is the highlight. He’s more than a catastrophic beast and we’re on his side when he swims off into the sunset. While the predictable sequel has not yet been confirmed, one thing is clear: Edwards’ version of “Godzilla” remains the ultimate monster movie. The legacy has been upheld. “Godzilla,” a Warner Bros. release, is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for “intense sequences of destruction, mayhem and creature violence. Running time: 123 minutes. Three stars out of four. ■ MPAA rating definition for PG13: Parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
FRIDAY MAY 16, 2014
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Lifestyle
Tips for mastering those forgotten cooking skills we used to take for granted BY MICHELE KAYAL The Associated Press PROCESSED AND convenience foods and shortcut cooking methods have become so entrenched in our culinary culture, it’s easy to forget just how much we have forgotten about real cooking. But cooking instructor Darina Allen knows all too well. More and more of her students arrive having never cooked so much as an egg, or needing lessons in remedial onion chopping. She remembers one student who thought she’d ruined a bowl of heavy cream because she’d whipped it too much. She thought the clumps and clots in the bowl meant it was bad. “I said, ‘Stop! Don’t throw it out!’” says Allen, author of “Forgotten Skills of Cooking.” “I said, ‘You’ve made butter!’ She was completely fascinated.” As cooking has been rendered optional—the victim of rising restaurant culture, myriad take-out options and supermarket sections packed with pre-cut vegetables, shredded cheese and prepared foods— Allen and others say cooks are increasingly losing touch with skills considered basic, or even essential, just a generation or two ago. And that is changing the way people like Allen teach, as well as how recipes are developed and written. “Nowadays, we have to be more specific—‘Fold it in with a rubber spatula.’—because people don’t know what folding is versus stirring,” says Julia Collin Davison, executive food editor for books at America’s Test Kitchen. “Now we list in our recipes more often what utensils to use: Stir with a spoon. Use a chef’s knife for this. Use a paring knife for this. Over the years we’ve altered our recipe style dramatically based on
reader feedback.” America’s Test Kitchen, known for its almost obsessive precision in recipe development, isn’t the only one. During the last decade or so, most cookbook and magazine recipes have begun to reflect the change in reader knowledge. While recipe writers could once use a shorthand style that assumed a basic knowledge, they now need to be far more explicit. “There was a time when you said ‘sear’ or ‘cream butter and sugar,’ and everyone knew what that means,” says Sarah Copeland, food director at Real Simple magazine. “Now you say, ‘Heat your skillet over medium-high heat, add oil, cook until golden brown.’ ... You took what was a two-word process and made it a 30-word process.” But if you’re ready to get back in the kitchen and reverse the culinary brain drain, we’ve assembled a list of essentials skills experts say every home cook should have. Chop
Knife skills are step No. 1 in any and all cooking. Cutting your own vegetables, rather than buying them pre-cut, makes a dramatic difference in the texture, flavour and price of a dish, Collin Davison says. Plus, mastering basic cutting technique shrinks prep time and makes cooking easier and more enjoyable. “If it takes you 15 minutes to cut up a single bell pepper, dinner’s going to take you 3 hours,” she says. “And when you’re good at knife skills, cooking is just way more fun.” Many cooking schools offer classes in basic knife skills, but excellent online videos also are available.
one of those instant ahha’s when people make the most beautiful seared chicken breast and it looks just like the magazine,” says Real Simple’s Copeland. Certain small steps—heating the pan properly, patting the meat dry before putting it in the pan—help ensure success. Real Simple and other sites offer stepby-step videos. “Those are a perfect entry point,” she says. Saute
Sauteing is searing’s more delicate cousin. Used to soften and brown vegetables and meats to be eaten on their own or as a base for soups, stews or other dishes, sauteing involves quickly cooking ingredients in a small amount of fat. The process requires high heat and a pan large enough to avoid crowding the ingredients. Learn to saute properly in a class or with an online video. And expect to make mistakes. “If it always comes out a little bland and wan looking, you need to turn up the heat,” Collin Davison says. “If the pan catches fire, you need to turn down the heat. People are afraid of the mess and the smoke.” Emulsify
Sear
Searing is the act of quickly browning meat over high heat using a pan, broiler or grill. “It’s
Emulsifying is the process of combining liquids that generally resist being mixed together, such as oil and vinegar. It is
used to make basic items such as salad dressing, pesto and hummus. “You don’t want to serve something where the oil is separated out,” Copeland says. “And it’s as simple as knowing to drizzle while whisking.” Temperature
Chefs test the doneness of meat by comparing its firmness to different parts of their palms. You can skip that exercise, Collin Davison says and invest in a reliable shortcut: the digital thermometer. “We temp everything from fish to burgers to steaks and roasts,” she says. “Once you learn your temps, you’re an expert.” Collin Davison recommends getting a high-quality thermometer and downloading a temperature chart from the Internet. Need more help with this one? Check out James Peter-
son’s new book, “Done,” a guide to knowing how to cook everything—from pot roast to poultry to pasta—just right. Blanch and shock
You may recall Julia Child plunging her quickly boiled green beans into ice water. That’s blanching (the boiling) and shocking (the ice) and it keeps vegetables crisp and green. It also pre-cooks vegetables that can be quickly sauced, browned or broiled just before serving. “It’s a trick that restaurants use a lot to prepare things in advance,” Copeland says. “If you blanch and shock your vegetables in the morning, and then toss them for dinner, you just cut your cooking time in half. It’s kind of a technique that’s a short cut and food improver more than anything else.” ■
37 FRIDAY MAY 16, 2014
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Lifestyle
MAY 16, 2014 FRIDAY 38
Aging safely and stylishly: No longer institutional, grab bars can accentuate decor BY KAREN SCHWARTZ The Associated Press THE RENOVATION of the master bathroom in my 83-year-old father’s new house turned out beautifully, with a frameless glass shower and handmade ceramic tile accents. Neither of us wanted to make it look institutional with a grab bar. We needn’t have worried. Many of today’s grab bars are cleverly disguised, looking instead like sleek soap dishes, functional shampoo trays, trendy towel racks and even toilet paper holders. Take for instance the corner shelf from American Standard’s Invisia line. It looks like nothing more than a solid white tray set inside a tubular frame. But that tube, available in brushed stainless or chrome, functions as a grab bar and can support up to 500 pounds. Want fun and funky? Best Bath Systems has a series of acrylic towel bars with hidden mounts that come in more
than two dozen colours, some opaque, some translucent, some with embedded stones and some that even glow in the dark. Or for a spa feel, they make a teak grab bar that comes in six different lengths, from 10 inches to 42 inches. Mounting hardware is available in a choice of five finishes. “We realized there were a lot of people who wanted an attractive option for safety, and who didn’t want to be reminded of their inabilities first thing in the morning and last thing at night,” said Abbie Sladick, 53, of Naples, Florida, a certified contractor and remodeler who created the GreatGrabz line. It was purchased by Best Bath Systems last year for an undisclosed amount. Still, I wondered what having a grab bar in the bathroom might do to the eventual resale value of the house. Turns out, it might just help it. A 2012 survey found that about half of those ages 55 to 64 thought that bathroom aids,
such as grab bars and shower seating, were “essential” or “desirable.” That rose to nearly two-thirds among those age 65 and older. Even in the younger age groups, about a third of those surveyed agreed. The National Association of Home Builders’ online survey of more than 3,860 respondents included only those who had purchased a house in the past three years or were planning on doing so in the next three years. In other words, people who were “really thinking” about what they wanted in a home, said Stephen Melman, NAHB’s director of economic services. Statistics show that while people 85 and older are the most likely to slip and fall, no age group is immune. Nearly 22 million people over the age of 15 went to the hospital because of a bathroom injury in 2008, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Falls accounted for more than 80 per cent of the injuries. Although 85 per cent of those
taken to a hospital were treated and released, the injuries still resulted in approximately $67.3 billion in lifetime medical costs, the CDC said. Some things to think about when choosing a grab bar: • Consider the weight of the people who will be using it. Some bars are rated to support up to 250 pounds, the amount required to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act. Others support up to 500 pounds. • Compare prices and quality. The Invisia shampoo shelf retails for about $285 online, depending on the finish, while one made by Moen is available at Home Depot for about $40. • Be aware of how it will be mounted. If you haven’t reinforced the back of your shower or tub with plywood, you’ll likely need a bar with 16-inch offsets, or multiples thereof, to secure it properly. • Many people think of grab bars for the shower and bathtub, but consider putting one near the toilet, too. The 10-inch
bars from Best Bath Systems can be mounted to hold a roll of toilet paper. Invisia, meanwhile, makes a more substantial, 13-inch-high arched toilet paper holder. With so many choices, it was easy to find attractive options for my father’s bathroom. And the best part is, no one knows it. Online:
www.best-bath.com www.americanstandardus.com/products/collection. aspx?d ■
‘It’ bags now passe; enter the exclusive and enduring signature bag as fashion flagship BY COLLEEN BARRY The Associated Press MILAN, ITALY—Perhaps the “It” bag’s star just burned too bright. Those must-have handbag wonders, which flew out of stores before dropping into sudden oblivion, have given way to something more enduring: signature bags. Iconic bags have been around since fashion fused with celebrity—Hermes has the Birkin, Fendi the Baguette, Gucci the Hobo, and so on—but now they are becoming a cornerstone of brand strategy, acting as a flagship item. These are bags so exclusive and enduring they have become emblematic of the label they bear. Ferragamo launched its own entry into the category this week with the Fiamma, named for founder Salvatore Ferraga-
The Fiamma hand bag.
mo’s late daughter, who was the force behind Ferragamo’s first handbag collection in the 1970s. Designed by Massimil-
iano Giornetti, the satchelstyled bag takes elements from a 1990s Fiamma Ferragamo design, including a top handle www.canadianinquirer.net
and a locked flap, for a creation meant to be both functional and esthetically appealing. “Handbags are something of a collector’s item, something you can pass down from generation to generation, so it really has value. It is something that also represents a brand,” James Ferragamo, grandson of Ferragamo and the brand’s director of women’s leather goods, said by telephone Tuesday, ahead of a dinner launching the new bag. “We want to maintain this in our collection for many years to come.” The Fiamma comes in three sizes, from a mini-version appropriate for the evening to a larger carryall, and has many iterations, from leather, python, crocodile, stingray, calf and fox. The price ranges from $1,650 to $27,000. Ferragamo underlined the intergenerational aspirations
for the bag, reflecting the company’s three-generational family history, with an online short film project featuring motherdaughter and sister pairings from iconic families, including Mariel Hemingway and her daughter Langley Hemingway Fox, that is posted on the brand’s website. Mariel Hemingway said she had no trouble signing on to the project. She’s a long-time fan of Ferragamo, and appreciated the family tie-in and the chance to work with her daughter. The role of fashion in everyday life hit home for the actress and, more recently, mental health advocate during a recent speaking engagement in Washington, D.C., when she kept getting compliments from strangers on her shoes—a pair of two-tone sandals with a silver buckle by ❱❱ PAGE 40 'It' bags
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39 FRIDAY MAY 16, 2014
Fraud Prevention Tips for Homebuyers and Homeowners BY CANADA MORTGAGE & HOUSING CORPORATION (CMHC) MORTGAGE FRAUD occurs when someone deliberately misrepresents information to obtain mortgage financing that would not have been granted if the truth had been known. CMHC offers tools and resources to educate consumers to prevent mortgage fraud. It offers important information on how to protect your name, your credit, and your family by avoiding becoming part of mortgage fraud.
Be an informed consumer! Be wary of anyone who approaches you with an offer to make “easy money” in real estate and never agree to purchase a home on someone else’s behalf. Remember: if a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Protect yourself and your family from becoming victims of or accomplices to mortgage fraud. CMHC provides valuable fraud prevention tips for homebuyers and homeowners in 8 languages at www.cmhc. ca/welcomehome. Please visit Planning & Managing your Mortgage for more information. ■
Kenney defends... 110,000 jobs listed on the job bank are no longer available. A litany of postings are several months old; some have been on the site for more than a year. Some job-seekers also complain that they never heard back from employers after applying for jobs posted online. An email address set up under a generic name by The Canadian Press has not received any replies to multiple queries about various job postings, including at companies that already employ temporary foreign workers. Bill Wadsworth, a helicopter pilot in B.C., says he applied for jobs at numerous companies that he later learned were given a positive labour market opinion—or LMO—that allowed them to hire temporary foreign workers. “I had applied to, and had the qualifications, to work for 75 per cent of the LMOs,” he said in a recent interview. “During my job search, I would contact these companies every two weeks on average. The response was always the same: ‘We have no openings.”‘ Wadsworth said he now views the job bank with cynicism. “The companies hiring the foreign workers have discovered that all they need to do is post a job online, wait a few weeks and then tell the government they had no Canadian applicants,” he said. “Regardless of how many resumes they receive, they know there are no government checks in place.” ❰❰ 18
Boko Haram... from Shekau, who spoke in the video in the Hausa language of northern Nigeria. Wearing camouflage fatigues, he clutched an assault rifle in the footage, which was imprinted with the Boko Haram insignia— a Qur’an resting on two crossed assault rifles—and below a black jihadi flag. The United States put a $7 million ransom on Shekau last year. The mass abductions and failure of Nigeria’s government and military to rescue the girls has aroused outrage at home and abroad. Last week, Nigeria belatedly accepted offers of help from the United States, Britain and other nations. President Goodluck Jonathan’s acceptance Sunday of help from Israel, which plans to send a counter-terrorism team, has angered some Muslims. A leading Islamic scholar, Ahmed Mahmud-Gumi, warned in a statement that accepting help from Israel would “turn Nigeria into another global arena and battlefield for the filthy neocolonial squabbles by interest groups.” On Saturday he said allowing Western soldiers onto Nigerian soil could make the country a new magnet for foreign Islamic militants who want to confront the United States and others. The foreign help does not involve boots on the ground but rather experts ❰❰ 21
The NDP’s Jinny Sims, the party’s immigration critic, said the existence of outdated postings on the job bank is just another example of the government’s shoddy labour market data. “Time and again the minister points to job vacancy numbers from the Canada Job Bank, data that is used to determine labour market opinions,” she said. “However, that data is often old and postings are not removed when filled. In other words, decisions to permit temporary foreign workers are based on false information.... Some post ads in the jobs bank just to qualify for the program.” Kenney, however, praises the site. He has said it receives seven million hits a month from job-seekers and that thousands of Canadians have signed up in the last two years to be notified about openings. “The truth is that the site is a useful platform to connect unemployed Canadians with available jobs,” he said. “The job alert service is now sending collectively hundreds of thousands of email alerts to unemployed Canadians, making them aware of available job postings.” Liberal immigration critic John McCallum mocked that defence. “It does not matter how many Canadians go on the site if the site does not work,” he said. “We know the site is so poorly maintained, so outdated, that job-seekers across the country are facing huge frustrations.” ■ www.canadianinquirer.net
in intelligence gathering, counter-terrorism and hostage negotiations. The U.S. team consists of some 30 people drawn from the State and Defence departments, the White House said Monday. Among them are five State Department officials, two strategic communications experts, a civil security expert and a regional medical support officer. Four FBI officials with expertise in safe recovery, negotiations and preventing future kidnappings are also part of the group. The Pentagon said 16 Defence Department personnel were on the team, including planners and advisers who were already in Nigeria and have been redirected to assist the government. French President Francois Hollande invited Jonathan and leaders from neighbouring Benin, Chad, Cameroon and Niger, as well as representatives of Britain, the EU and the United States, to a summit on Saturday to focus on Boko Haram, terrorism and insecurity in West Africa. A French official said Jonathan had agreed to attend. He spoke on condition of anonymity because details of the gathering have not been finalized. ■ Alamba reported from Abuja, Nigeria.
Business
MAY 16, 2014 FRIDAY 40
With exports still lagging, what more can Canada do to improve trade performance? BY JULIAN BELTRAME The Canadian Press OTTAWA—The dollar is down, many global economies are doing better and Ottawa is inking trade and investment deals on a regular basis. So why is Canada’s trade performance still lagging? The question that has been puzzling Ottawa and the Bank of Canada for several years will again be front and centre later this week when federal Trade Minister Ed Fast unveils the latest government effort to revitalize one of the most critical sectors of the economy. It was also the subject of two major reports Monday from the Canadian Council of Chief Executives and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce—the first calling for the elimination of all tariffs on imports, the latter a new rethink on how we sell ourselves to the world, including improving the country’s “business brand.” On Wednesday, Fast will announce details on the government plan to embed more than 25 trade commissioners inside business organizations across the country so as to better coordinate government efforts and programs with the companies that can best make use of them. It’s yet another attempt to light a fire under Canadian firms which—except in the resource sector—appear to be having an increasingly difficult time finding foreign buyers for the products they make.
Fast will also announce an upcoming trade mission to Canada by ministers of the 10 ASEAN countries and another by business leaders from Turkey in the first two weeks of June—along with his own plans to visit China next week. The new initiatives come on top of successful trade negotiations with Europe and South Korea, an investment pact with China and a new global commerce strategy unveiled last year, all of which have so far failed to light a fire under the country’s export sector. With new export numbers for March being released Friday, Scotiabank Derek Holt predicts more bad news. Under the headline, “How can exports not rebound after the Q1 disaster?” he predicts in a note that March’s performance will likely be torpedoed by the Vancouver port strike. But it hasn’t just been the first quarter that’s disappointed. Exports overall have still not recovered to pre-slump levels, mostly because the noncommodity industries—such as manufactured goods—remain about 13 per cent, or $27.6 billion, below where they were in 2005. Those numbers constitute a lost decade that explains why provinces such as Ontario and Quebec have had such poor growth and employment records in recent years. Export Development Canada chief economist Peter Hall says non-commodity exporters have been caught in a perfect storm—they have been trying
to sell value-added goods into a penny-pinching U.S. market that was hammered by the recession at a time when the Canadian dollar was appreciating. “It’s been a tough sell in our principal and dominant market, but given that the U.S. economy is coming back, the prospects of Canadian growth inside that market are what they were before,” he said. Many have suggested that something more fundamental is at play, including poor productivity improvement compared with the United States and Japan and others, and the oft-voiced complaint that Canadian business leaders tend to be less adventurous than their foreign competitors. It was a view regularly voiced by Mark Carney when he was Canada’s top central banker, although the current governor, Stephen Poloz, has been more
understanding of Canadian caution. Dan Ciuriak, a trade consultant and former deputy chief economist with International Trade who co-wrote council of chief executives report, says arguing that Canadians can’t do what others seem to be able to accomplish is difficult to demonstrate scientifically. The problem may be that Canadian governments have been too risk adverse, he says. “The scientific perspective is that there’s something (amiss) in our industrial policy framework,” he said. “There are areas where the government has to be engaged because they are too risky for the private sector to touch but are still important to the economy.” He gives the example of the British government taking over the jet engine production function of Rolls Royce when
cost overruns bankrupted the company. Now Rolls Royce is a global leader in the industry. “The saying is governments can’t pick winners, but can businesses pick winners? There’s an enormous failure rate in business,” he points out. “The fact that governments will sometimes fail should not be seen as an insurmountable obstacle for engaging in areas where there is significant public good to be had.” Ciuriak admits the Harper government does not appear predisposed to devising an overarching industrial strategy for Canada, but warns there are only a few more bullets left to be fired in the trade liberalization gun. “However, there are a whole range of other options you have to consider, and these range from exchange rate policy to industrial policy,” he added. ■
takes ChapStick, a wallet and my phone,” Langley Hemingway Fox said by phone from New York. It’s no surprise that brands are honing their handbag focus. Accessories have proven themselves recession-resistant, and the economic traction they give fashion houses is making it more critical for brands to develop an iconic bag, one that “can stand as a brand’s flagship item,” said Ginger Reeder of Neiman Marcus. With sales of leather goods
the fastest-growing segment in the luxury sector, there is enough room for every house to have an iconic bag, “and most do,” Reeder said. Global sales of leather goods, excluding footwear, reached 36 billion euros ($50 billion) last year, nearly one-third of all luxury sales, according to a study by Bain & Co. Ultimately, the customer will decide which bag becomes iconic. “I think people want something that endures,” said Alison Minton, a fashion blogger and
handbag enthusiast who chronicles her passion for accessories on her blog accessorygeneration.com. “I think people don’t want to buy a new bag every season, but want a bag that is stylish and well-made and is going to last.” Minton herself has faced the “It” bag temptation. She resisted a friend’s offer to pick up the Louis Vuitton Speedy Graffiti bag in Paris back in its heyday— and suffered a pang of regret when she saw the prices that the bag was later fetching
on e-Bay. Her collection now includes both icons and personal treasures, including a Birkin bag, a Gucci bag that her mother bought her in Italy a decade ago and a Goyard tote bag, which she said would now be out of her price range. “Luckily for me, when I bought my iconic bags, things were not as crazy as they are now.”
‘It’ bags... ❰❰ 38
none other than Ferragamo—from the decidedly non-fashion
crowd. “The point of fashion is not for people to walk the red carpet. It is so people can live their lives looking fashionable, stylish and beautiful in any realm they work in,” Hemingway said. Hemingway’s daughter has been test-driving a mini-black Fiamma, which she said is perfect for her lifestyle. “I am not the girl with the briefcase. I am the girl who
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Online: http://www.ferragamo.com/ fiamma/en/usa/bag-collection ■
Sports/Horoscope
41 FRIDAY MAY 16, 2014
In first comments since ban, Clippers owner Sterling says not a racist, made terrible mistake The Associated Press LOS ANGELES—Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling apologized Sunday for racist comments captured on tape, saying they were a “terrible mistake.” “I’m not a racist,” Sterling told CNN’s Anderson Cooper in excerpts posted from an interview taped Sunday and set to air Monday. “I made a terrible mistake. I’m here to apologize.” In his first public comments since being banned for life from the NBA, Sterling said years of good behaviour as an owner should count toward his future. “I’m a good member who made a mistake,” Sterling said. “Am I entitled to one mistake, am I after 35 years? I mean, I love my league, I love my part-
ners. Am I entitled to one mistake? It’s a terrible mistake, and I’ll never do it again.” The interview came nearly two weeks after NBA Commissioner Adam Silver banned Sterling, fined him $2.5 million and urged the other league owners to force him to sell the team. Sterling said he waited to make a public apology because he was “emotionally distraught.” “The reason it’s hard for me, very hard for me, is that I’m wrong,” Sterling said. “I caused the problem. I don’t know how to correct it.” He later added, “If the owners feel I have another chance, then they’ll give it to me.” Sterling’s comments came on the same day ABC News posted excerpts of an interview his estranged wife gave to Barbara Walters.
Shelly Sterling said she would fight to keep her 50 per cent ownership stake of the team. “I will fight that decision,” Shelly Sterling said. “To be honest with you, I’m wondering if a wife of one of the owners, and there’s 30 owners, did something like that, said those racial slurs, would they oust the husband? Or would they leave the husband in? “I don’t know why I should be punished for what his actions were.” NBA spokesman Mike Bass released a statement Sunday night in response to Shelly Sterling’s comments. “Under the NBA constitution, if a controlling owner’s interest is terminated by a three-quarter vote, all other team owners’ interests are automatically ter-
minated as well,” Bass said. “It doesn’t matter whether the owners are related as is the case here. These are the rules to which all NBA owners agreed to as a condition of owning their team.” Shelly Sterling’s attorney, Pierce O’Donnell, responded to the NBA’s statement. “We do not agree with the league’s self-serving interpretation of its constitution, its application to Shelly Sterling or its validity under these unique circumstances,” O’Donnell said. “We live in a nation of laws. California law and the United States Constitution trump any such interpretation.” ABC posted initial excerpts of Shelly Sterling’s interview and planned to air the rest of it Monday. Shelly Sterling also said she “eventually” will divorce her
husband, and that she hadn’t yet done so due to financial considerations. “For the last 20 years, I’ve been seeing attorneys for a divorce,” she said. “In fact, I have here—I just filed—I was going to file the petition. I signed the petition for a divorce. And it came to almost being filed. And then, my financial adviser and my attorney said to me, ‘Not now.”‘ LeBron James said Sunday after the Miami Heat practiced for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Brooklyn Nets that NBA players believe nobody in the Sterling family should be able to own the Clippers if he’s gone. “As players, we want what’s right and we don’t feel like no one in his family should be able to own the team,” James said. ■
HOROSCOPE ARIES
CANCER
LIBRA
CAPRICORN
(MARCH 21 - APRIL 19)
(JUNE 22 - JULY 22)
(SEPT 23 - OCT 22)
(DEC 22 - JAN 19)
The mood is one of bustle and change, Aries. It's a good day to clear out your wardrobe or other belongings. Out with the old, in with the new! You may consign the old stuff to the basement or give it to charity. The main thing is to make room for your new tastes and new relationships. A new person is being born in you. Clear the path for this being to come through!
TAURUS (APRIL 20 - MAY 20)
No one dislikes red tape and bureaucracy more than you. But take advantage of the atmosphere today. If you have any applications to submit or formalities to complete, you'll find the process much easier than usual. Communication channels that are normally closed will open, and the administrative mechanisms will be well oiled instead of grinding. Get all administrative tasks done so you won't have to think about them again!
Today you should abandon any intellectual pursuits and concentrate on practical problems related to organization and goal setting. You're likely to find perfect solutions within an hour of starting. The heavens are helping you, Libra. Give them some credit for your ingenuity, and waste no time in implementing your plans!
SCORPIO
LEO
GEMINI (MAY 21 - JUNE 21)
AQUARIUS (JAN 20 - FEB 18)
(OCT 23 - NOV 21)
(JULY 23 - AUGUST 22) Today is a good day to organize professional or personal meetings. They will be productive. It's an auspicious time for efficient, serious communication, realistic plans, and group harmony. All the ingredients for success and true advancement are available. Don't be surprised if you're the one in charge. You're especially good at creating a warm, welcoming atmosphere.
Until now, you didn't know you were capable of managing people with problems. But the so-called poetic universe you inhabit is actually much more realistic than it seems at first glance. People who believe that human reality is 100 percent logical will feel ridiculous when they see the elegant, humane solutions you invent.
Some people tend to make mountains out of molehills. Currently, you're likely to feel as though you're surrounded by people who exaggerate problems. You, on the other hand, have a loftier perspective. You're a visionary who can foresee future social trends. This gift would serve you well as a political speechwriter, should you want to take on that sort of job.
You're a great creator of systems, Scorpio. You can tinker with every sort of construction, from theories and computer programs to scientific experiments and strategic evaluations. Today the planets are guiding you. You're a perfect computer, capable of synthesizing random events into pure reason. You're sure to attract attention if you share your thoughts with others.
VIRGO
At last, a day of relief from the tension! The flow of communication facilitates personal and professional projects. Now is the time to listen to your partner or other family members about the material aspects of the future. For example, are you setting aside enough money for your children's education? Are you taking proper care of your home? Are your investments allocated correctly? These are all issues worth considering today.
SAGITTARIUS
PISCES
(NOV 22 - DEC 21)
(FEB 19 - MAR 20)
(AUG 23 - SEPT 22) It isn't always easy to win the admiration you expect from your partner, Gemini. But in this area today seems to be better than most. You're likely to be brimming with ideas for ways to enhance your most appealing qualities. But don't overdo it. Your efforts at physical or intellectual seduction are most effective when they're subtle.
You're visionary and progressive today, Virgo, despite what people may say about your tendency to be conservative. You could easily come up with an effective way to help people. For some reason, practical problems are easy for you to solve. Don't pay any attention to the idle and ineffective chatter of intellectuals.
Who would have guessed that you have an ability to understand subjects as irrational as human passions? You're getting down and dirty with the sticky, trivial realities of day-to-day life that never interested you before. Your new nonstick coating would make you an excellent personnel director, hiring and firing at the drop of a hat. Has that thought ever occurred to you?
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You're well aware that your happiness in love doesn't depend on emotional promises alone. In order to attract your attention, anyone new in your life has to make some material offering as well. That's exactly what could happen today. You might receive a gift from someone who has been buzzing around you for some time. Smile, Pisces. People are finally beginning to catch on.
FRIDAY MAY 16, 2014
42
Travel
5 free things to see and do in Santa Fe From the historic plaza to aspen covered mountains BY SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN The Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M.—There’s no doubt this capital city has truly earned its nickname as The City Different. Its skyline is not made of skyscrapers, but rather a collection of flat-topped adobe buildings that has taken more than four centuries to evolve. At its heart, Santa Fe’s narrow, unaligned streets are decorated with colorful strings of chile called ristras and quaint mud-plastered homes. The endless shades of brown and turquoise all pay homage to the blending of Native American and Spanish cultures. There are plenty of private and state-run museums that can provide history lessons, but simply wandering the streets, talking to locals and breathing in Santa Fe’s mountain air— seemingly always tinged with the sweet smell of burning cedar and pinon— can all be done for free. The plaza
A national historic landmark, the plaza has served as the commercial, social and political centre of Santa Fe since the early 1600s. It plays host to art markets through the year and is home to the Palace of the Governors, the nation’s oldest continuously occupied public building. A webcam offers 24-hour views of the plaza, but there’s nothing like strolling under its portals to get a look at the rows and rows of silver and
Interior of the Saint Francis Cathedral, a Roman Catholic cathedral in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Sangre de Cristos.
PHOTO BY NAGEL PHOTOGRAPHY / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
turquoise jewelry and other wares made by Native Americans. The plaza is also a perfect place for people watching.
committee meetings and handshake sessions. But the building’s hallways are also adorned with hundreds of works of art. The Capitol Art Collection was created in 1991 and consists of nearly 600 works exhibited in the building’s public spaces and on the grounds outside. The collection is currently valued at more than $5.6 million. Selfguided tours can be taken Monday through Friday. Free guided tours are also available.
Canyon Road
Just blocks from the plaza, Canyon Road is home to all things Santa Fe-style. The long, winding road once served as an artery to the mountains for residents who needed to gather firewood. Now, it’s lined with more than 100 fine art galleries and studios that welcome visitors for free. The galleries feature everything from antiques to traditional Hispanic and Native art and international folk art. Historic churches
Amid all the adobe architecture is an impressive collection of chapels, cathedrals and mission churches that dates back centuries. One of the largest is St. Francis Cathedral. Aside from being one of the city’s most photographed landmarks, Pope Benedict XVI in 2005 declared
Sangre de Cristos
Santa Fe bazaar.
it the Southwest’s cradle of Catholicism. Nearby is Loretto Chapel, which features a legendary spiral wooden staircase that the sisters of the chapel believe was built by St. Joseph himself. Church services are held every Sunday. Also within walking distance is the oldest church in the nation, San Miguel Mission
Church. It’s open during the week and regular services are held on Sundays. Art collection
During the legislative session, the Roundhouse— it’s the only round capitol building in the country— is often crowded with people running between
The Sangre de Cristo Mountains provide a beautiful backdrop to Santa Fe’s adobe skyline. A short drive out of the city leads to numerous hiking and biking choices. In the fall, the changing aspens attract thousands of people. Just be prepared for the change in altitude. Santa Fe sits about 7,000 feet (2,133 metres) above sea level and the mountain vistas can top out around 12,000 feet (3,658 metres). ■
Travel
43 FRIDAY MAY 16, 2014
Fancy a cuppa? Indulge in centuries old tradition of afternoon tea BY CHRIS PURDY The Canadian Press FORGET COFFEE. Tea is the new black. And we’re not talking about your average cuppa—think bigger, fancier, with finger sandwiches. The British tradition of afternoon tea is a lingering and luxurious affair, still popular three centuries after a noblewoman started the trend because she got the growlies in the late afternoon. Legend has it that Anna Maria Stanhope, Duchess of Bedford, had servants sneak a pot of tea and some snacks up to her room each day. Eventually she started inviting friends to join her and the event morphed into a regular social occasion. Since then, high-end hotels and specialty tea shops around the world have been offering up the afternoon ritual in a range of prices and decadence. Not to be confused with high tea— which is more of a meal, served in the early evening— afternoon tea begins with a selec-
tion of the drink transported in elegant pots that endlessly fill cups daintily clinking on top of saucers. Towering in the middle of the table is the main attraction: a tiered stand piled high with scones to smother with preserves and clotted cream, tiny crustless sandwiches (there’s usually at least one stuffed with cucumbers), and rich pastries and desserts. Most venues recommend customers set aside at least 90 minutes for sipping, nibbling and chatting away. Tea and food aside, it’s the entire experience of afternoon tea that’s the draw, says Anne Marie Vivani, owner of the Savoy Room in St. Catharines, Ont. Three years ago, Vivani opened her tea room—all it serves is afternoon tea—and has noticed a steady increase in customers. She thinks more people want what she calls “Old World charm.” Brett Patterson is a Toronto executive with Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, which has offered afternoon tea at many of its locations for decades. He says he has also seen a recent resurgence in the tradition. “ We ’r e g o i n g back to a lot of things i n life, going back to older things ... It’s all coming back.” The British period TV drama “Downton Abbey” has spawned at-home tea
parties and special events at some tea houses. So have non-fiction royal visits. Later this month, Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, are to visit Canada, with stops scheduled in Prince Edward Island, Manitoba and Nova Scotia. Of course, the mother of all afternoon tea times seems to be Mother’s Day. The popularity of the tradition is perhaps matched by a growing taste for tea itself. Starbucks—the queen of coffee—said it all when it acquired a chain of tea stores in 2012 and, the following year, opened its first “tea bar” in New York. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has even identified the tea trend, linking it to people’s growing interest in being healthy. Statistics Canada reports that Canadians drink about 10 billion cups of tea each year. Fairmont’s Empress Hotel in Victoria, perhaps the most renowned place to sit down for afternoon tea in Canada, serves about 100,000 people annually. It started its daily event in 1908. In Edmonton, the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald serves a common twist on afternoon tea, called royal tea. It basically adds alcohol to the menu, typically a glass of sherry or Champagne. The hotel even throws in a tour of its royal suite, where the Queen stayed in 2005. For those who want to include their
wee ones, Fairmont offers afternoon tea in the form of a teddy bear picnic at its Chateau Lake Louise in Alberta. At the company’s Vancouver hotel, children are encouraged to dress up like their favourite fairy-tale characters and get special bubble gum tea with peanut butter and jelly finger sandwiches. Other locations of note that offer afternoon tea include the historic Windsor Arms Hotel in Toronto, Mademoiselle Clifford’s Tea Room in Hudson, Que., and Grandma’s Tea Room in Charlottetown. There is an art to serving afternoon tea and it has its own etiquette. Here are some dos and don’ts from Fairmont Hotels and Resorts: • If you add milk, pour it into the cup before the tea. If you like sugar, drop cubes in afterward. • To stir, hold the spoon at the six o’clock position and swish back and forth without touching the sides of the cup. Never clink. • Don’t blow on tea to cool it. You just have to wait it out. • Place index finger into the handle with your thumb on top. The bottom of the handle should rest on your third finger. And, if you like, point your pinky up for balance. • Take an elegant sip and don’t look around. Keep your eyes on your cup so it doesn’t spill. ■
Alexander also insisted that Canada’s visa service in Mexico is second to none. “We see the potential of this market because we trust and want to see Mexican students, business people, tourists and family members visiting Canada often,” he said. “We are offering service in under seven days to a growing number of people.” Alexander noted that Canada issued Mexicans a total of 69,000 visitor visas and study permits in 2013. “This year in the first four months, we have 34,000 visitor visas, study permits and worker permits issued—half of last
year’s numbers in only four months,” he boasted. Under the Can+ program, applicants’ passports will be examined for proof of previous travel and their visa applica-
tions will then be expedited. To benefit from the new program, Mexican travellers can apply online or at one of three visa application centres in Mexico. ■
Ottawa speeds... ❰❰ 23
David Goldstein, president and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association, welcomed
the news. The announcement is “an important step forward that will make Canada a more competitive destination, while maintaining the integrity of our immigration system,” he said. The Can+ program builds on a sixmonth pilot project. It streamlined visa processing, with visas being issued within seven days. Ninety-five per cent of requests were approved.
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Events
MAY 16, 2014
FRIDAY 44
BC HOLDS FINANCIAL L KINSHIP CAREGIVERS
In B.C., Knowledge Dissemination Days ( held in Victoria, Nanaimo, and Burnaby t from the research thus far and to get mo ers on financial literacy. Financial literacy to make informed financial decisions abo their money. A healthy lifestyle may only be masking your chronic Hepatitis B
Ang isang malusog na pamumuhay ay maaari lamang minamaskarahan ang iyong talamak na Hepatitis B
Did You Know? You are 3 to 12 times more likely to get infected with chronic Hepatitis B if you were born in Asia
Free Education Workshop in Tagalog-English Saturday, May 31st, 2014 10:30am – 11:30am
Saturday, May 24th, 2014 10:30am – 11:30am
MHHS Richmond 55+sers Filipino Club 2nd Floor, 6910 No. 3 Road, Richmond BC (Across the Richmond City Hall)
Multicultural Helping House Society 4802 Fraser St. cor. East 32 nd Avenue Vancouver, BC V5V 4H4
Anyone Can Participate Please call to register: 778.237.4043 Or register online at: http://HepB.successbc.ca Funded by:
Sponsored by:
Service Provided by:
Details of events: In Victoria: Tuesday, May 13, 2014 10:3 * Location: Sands Funeral Chapel locat BC In Nanaimo: Wednesday, May 14, 2014 * Location: Beban Park Recreation Cen BC In Burnaby: Thursday, May 15, 2014 10 pm to 8:30 pm * Location: Parent Support Services Soc St., Burnaby
Saturdays with Kapamilya SPRING 2014 PARENTING WORKSHOPS @ Little Mountain Neighborhood House 3981 Main Street and East 24th Avenue, Vancouver, BC
PARENTING AFTER SEPARATION
By Elizabeth Araujo, Family Justice Counsellor Vancouver Family Justice Centre Panel: PSS • VLMMFSSS
Saturday, 24 May 2014,1:00 pm to 4:00 pm Overview of the effects of separation on parents, children and entire family Basic information on the new Family Law that relates to separation Services available at the Family Justice Centre
SUPPORTING FAMILIES NURTURE HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS
By Pat Formento, Victim Support Service Worker Vancouver & Lower Mainland Multiculural Family Support Services Society (VLMMFSSS)
Saturday, 31 May 2014, 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm Using the Equality Wheel, participants will gain additional tools that will help them foster respect, effective communication, and equality in relationship
RAISING OUR CHILDREN: THE ROLE OF DISCIPLINE
by Bella S. Cenezero, Program Director Parent Support Services Society of BC (PSS)
Saturday, 7 June 2014, 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm Understanding the difference between discipline and punishment Understanding stages of child development and appropriate discipline Resources available to support parents and children
Little Mountain Neighbourhood House
We acknowledge the financial support of the Province of British Columbia
Parent Support Services Society of BC
Libre ang pagdalo pati ang merienda at childminding. Para magpalista at dagdag na impormasyon, tumawag o mag-email 604 669-1616 Bella Cenezero
almacsaplala@yahoo.com Alma Saplala
rmanikan@vsb.bc.ca Rommel Manikan
VICTORIA DAY PARADE AND FIRST ANNUAL MIGRANTS AND WORKERS CONFERENCE The Filipino Canadian High River Association will participate in the May 19, 2014, Victoria Day Parade at 9 a.m. at the High River Memorial Centre 122-5 Ave West, High River, AB Meanwhile, a discussion will be held from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., during the “First Annual Migrants and Workers Conference”. Topics include immigration, employment, sponsorship, Family law, legal rights and more. Contact Eduardo Basa (403)5108620 email:filcanhighrivercommunity@yahoo.ca
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Events
45 FRIDAY MAY 16, 2014
LITERACY OF
(May 13,14, and 15th) will be to review some of the findings ore insights from kinship caregivrefers to an individual’s ability out the use and management of
30 am to 12:30 pm ted at 1803 Quadra St., Victoria,
4 10:30 am to 12:30 pm ntre, 2300 Bowen Rd., Nanaimo
0:30 am to 12:30 pm AND 6:30
ciety of BC, 204-5623 Imperial
FILIPINO FUN The Toronto Public Library marks Asian Heritage Month with mini-festivals celebrating culture and history from across Asia. Saturdays are Homeland Festival days featuring dance, music, food, stories and literature. The Filipino Centre invites everyone from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., May 31, for a free traditional Filipino performance and the chance to learn or speak Tagalog. You may register by calling 416-395-5720, e-mail doprograms@torontopubliclibrary. ca or visit the branch.
CONSULAR OUTREACH The Philippine Embassy in Ottawa will hold a consular mission in Montreal at 2-7 p.m. , May 23 and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on May 24 at the Jesus is Lord Church at 5180 Queen Mary, Suite 200 Montreal, Quebec. For more details, contact Pastor Mercy Galera at 514-731-8307.
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FRIDAY MAY 16, 2014
46
CANADA
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FRIDAY 48